


Constellations

by JustaJayyyy



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, FanFiction.Net, Fanfiction, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-11-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 43,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustaJayyyy/pseuds/JustaJayyyy
Summary: Set 300+ years after the events of The Silver Age in the Sonic Universe comics, there's this unique transcendental artifact known as the Astrum. It contains all knowledge of erased and altered pasts and has the power to recreate the world. Silver is on a mission to track down the Astrum and seal it away in a null void known as Felsic after it and the artifact's wielder, Enigma, has caused irreparable damage to Mobius. During an intense battle, he meets a rogue named Moly who saves his life from Enigma, a being corrupted with the Astrum's power. The two pair up to find Enigma and put a stop to their corruption to save the future.
Relationships: Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog
Kudos: 7





	1. Illicit

**[Knothole]  
** [South island, Mobius]  
[Year 31∆∆]  
  
_[The future has been torn asunder by an entity known as Enigma- a Coyote gone mad with power due to an unknown source hellbent on destroying and reshaping the world.  
Silver, a young hedgehog with psychokinesis, is at a battle to stop this being and send them to a place called "Felsic".]_

_**[As I write this, the battle for the land is ongoing. It has been hours. No end in sight unless something happens.]**_  
  
"You won't... You won't kill me that easy..."  
"My, aren't you stubborn?"  
"S-shut up a-and- AUGH!"  
  
The hedgehog was thrown to the mountainside with one swift movement. Pained but not broken, he stood to his feet. The teal energy radiating from his hands and cuffs enveloped his body as a makeshift force-field, mirroring and absorbing the static-filled blows. With every hit, he could feel his energy draining more and more.

"Y-you may look tough, but your blows are nothing for me!" The silver hedgehog said, his barrier fading out and his cyan aura flared to life around him.

 _D-Dang it... what kind of power is that?_  
  
"You're weakened. Face it, boy, you cannot defeat me." The coyote pridefully announced, their dark aura flaring as well.  
  
"Keep talking, Enigma! It gives me more time to hit ya!" The young hedgehog smirked as he "flew" to Enigma, hurling rocks and broken tree branches towards them.  
  
The coyote flashed their bronze eyes, teleporting in front of Silver and choking him. Silver grabbed onto their wrists, trying to pull himself free as gold met bronze. Their glares spoke two different words-- one of pride, the other of assurance.  
  
"Whether you came from the future or not, you are a pest. And like a pest, you will be squashed like one."  
  
Cyan faded to black static, fully engulfing Silver's body and draining all remaining color and fight left in him. He cried out as he was then violently purged against a wall.  
He fell, unable to even hold his weight in his arms. He was too tired, he couldn't focus enough energy to protect himself. After two or so hours of non-stop fighting with this being, the fight had left him.  
  
_**[Argentum has been weakened. I must assist.]**_

 __ **[Until then,]  
** [Μόλυβδος]  
  
"Finally, time to put an end to your miserable existence." Stated the beige coyote as they took steps towards the boy.  
  
Cracking their knuckles, they enveloped in a dark aura once more and began to build up a flickering aura in their palms.  
  
_I'm done for... I... I'm sorry everyone... I've failed the future..._  
  
Silver awaited his imminent death, knowing that fighting this mobian-demon-thing was useless. He felt a static sensation in his body and screamed as it attacked his very core. Going silent, his body was covered in a thick static-filled energy. It wouldn't stop, the harsh needle-like stabbing he felt in his arms and chest, attacking his power sources and draining all of his energy. It hurt so much...  
  
Until the pain suddenly stopped.  
  
"Haha!... What?!"  
  
The young hog opened his golden eyes, widening as he saw what the coyote was astonished by A levitating dark silver fox was in front of him. Thick pure white hair tied up into a ponytail that gently swayed in motion to her anti-gravity field, finger-less white gloves with identical indigo symbols that pulsated with chaos energy. A long black indigo lined sleeveless trenchcoat with a violet strap that seemed to click the attire in place. They had on faded indigo boots and silver amplifying cuffs nearly identical to his own golden ones, complete with the energy lines as well.  
  
"W-who... What..." Silver stammered as he began to feel a small amount of energy wrap around the most damaged spots in his hands and chest. These energies felt warm and inviting. Nice and calming. He watched in shock as the scars on his hands began to fade.  
  
Looking up, he saw himself and the being surrounded in a soft violet barrier, holding back Enigma's attack. This violet barrier had some sort of healing ability... but how? It was then that he gathered the energy to stand up. He wasn't alone, no, not the only one who had his kind of powers. He hasn't met anyone like this in... gosh... how long _has_ it been?  
  
_Go. Attack._  
  
He snapped his attention to the fox in front of him. Were they talking to him? He had to try and communicate back to the fox.  
  
_But who are-_

 ** _NOW._**  
  
Startled by the telepathic shouting, the hedgehog flared up in his psychical cyan aura and left the barrier as it disintegrated. The barrier's healing abilities were just enough for him to gather his focus back as well as his fighting spirit.  
  
"H-how..are you?!" Enigma chuckled, letting out a growl as his dark energy engulfed his own body. "Come at me then, silver boy. Just try and defeat me!"  
  
"Take this, mangy!" He taunted as he lifted a large rock up and hurling it at the being.  
  
The beige coyote jumped away, their hands glowing with black energy, lunging at the hedgehog. Enigma countered with a full concentrated ball of pure vampiric energy. As it hit Silver, he cried out as his energy was being stolen again.  
  
"No one can keep me from my- grk!"  
  
Before he knew it, the mental anguish from the vampiric energy drain was over. Weakened but still somehow able to focus, the young hedgehog caught himself from falling and levitated once more. He watched, his eyes widened by what he saw. He felt as if time had slowed briefly as he assessed what he was looking at: an indigo arrow piercing his enemy's chest before disintegrating. The fox held a violet semi-transparent bow and another arrow ready to fire. Time kicked back into motion as the coyote clutched their chest.  
  
_Portal. Now._  
  
Enigma turned to the mysterious stranger, levitating to the person with all of their strength. He shot multiple concentrated balls of energy as he shouted at the fox. The stranger flew away from Enigma, indigo trailing behind her as she dodged their attacks. Enigma turned their attention back to Silver, not wanting to fight a third party.

 _Silver, open a Rift now!_  
  
Silver understood, his priorities being set straight. Harnessing the last remaining bit of his psychic power, he cried out as he managed to open the Rift portal. Noticing his enemy was escaping (thanks to the stranger distracting them), he used his telekinetic arms to grab onto the coyote, wrapping their limbs in a cyan energy. They tried to fight back against the powerful gravitational pull, trying to form their static energy but failing.  
  
Silver shouted, "YOU'VE DONE," he held the coyote in a telekinetic choke-hold, grinning as the enemy's aura finally began to fade, "ENOUGH," He jumped back before flinging his enemy into the portal, "HERE!" He shouted as he hovered swiftly to the portal's entrance. Enigma was rebounding, fists clenched as they dashed for the opening. Focusing as much as he could, he forced his palms shut and successfully closed the portal.  
  
"Ha. Ha... I.. Did it..." The boy panted as his aura began to fade as he lost consciousness and began to fall.  
  
The fox held their arms out, engulfing Silver in a gentle indigo aura and preventing him from falling further.  
  
_Well done._


	2. Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Moly's name is intentionally spelled that way! Her name comes from the metal, Molybdenum and is pronounced as "molly". Her pronouns are they/she.

** [Great Forest]  
[South island, Mobius]  
[Year 31∆∆]**

**_[Argentum has successfully neutralized Enigma for the time being.]_ **

_**[I have assisted him as he is too weak to be on his own. For the time being, he is resting at my camp.]** _

_**[I have made him some food for when he awakens. As well as some herbal medicine to treat his wounds. Perhaps he will stay for a while.]** _

**[Until then,]  
[Μόλυβδος]**  
  
The fox shut her journal, hiding it in her knapsack as she watched Silver sleep. For the first time in this timeline, it began to rain. The dry harsh air that was once filled with smoke and heavy tension was now replaced with a peaceful light-spirited haze. She could practically feel the plants and greenery reviving just outside her tent. Speaking of, her camp just barely fits both her and Silver. She cared more for the boy though, seeing as he was the only one strong enough to fully banish an entity like Enigma. She had to make sure he got his rest.

The fox examined his wounds, using the last bit of her energy to heal the minor scratches and bruises on him. She curiously looked at his clothing; similar to her, he had the same symbols on his hands as her, golden amplifying cuffs surging with similar cyan chaos energy. The oddest thing so far about his attire, was the gold headband he had behind his ears, cyan lining in the center. He had on medium-long black sleeves connected to his white gloves, light blue lining ran vertically to the amplifiers parallel to the symbols on his hands. He wore a black cut-out crop top with an embedded gently pulsing symbol in the center, a gold belt with the same teal lining in the center and sporting some black active-wear shorts with bright light blue trims at the ends. His legs had amplifying cuffs directly below his knees and ended with navy boots with a light teal end.  
She observed his power sources, watching in awe as the symbols seemed to gently brighten and dim with his breaths. The symbol on his chest was pulsing slower, most likely in sync with his own heartbeat. Fascinating. She knew he was something unique, but being in this getup was making her more and more curious about him.  
  
Silver slowly began to wake up, muttering to himself as his consciousness started to come back. "Mmgh... ENIGMA!" He quickly sat up before clutching his head, eyes screwing shut from the throbbing headache. "Ugh... Ow..."

"Easy."  
  
Nearly jumping from the surprise, Silver turned to face the fox. Gold met Amethyst as the two stared at one another. This is the stranger-- that dark silver fox that helped him.   
  
"You... You're that..!"  
  
"The one who saved your life."  
  
"Where did you come from?"  
  
"The future."  
  
"But... Enigma is-"  
  
"Gone. You purged them from this timeline."  
  
The hedgehog was frozen in place. She picked up a small wooden bowl and spoon, filling it with warm soup she had made while he slept. He glanced outside, seeing the rain. How long was he asleep for..?  
  
"Eat. Nourish yourself."  
  
Wary of strangers, the boy hesitated for a moment as he looked at the bowl then at the fox. He didn't know what to think. Just who the hell was this person? Who was this fox? Why did they help him? As far as he knew, he and Enigma were the only beings that were supposed to exist here at this time. Silver turned his head, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his arms on them. Wincing, he moved his arms a little, showing some scratches and scars on his limb. He forgot just how much his body was beaten up from that fight.  
  
"No thanks. I'm not hungry."  
  
The two stared at each other before Silver's stomach rumbled, going against his own word. He looked at her in shame and embarrassment. His tough demeanor quickly fading to nervousness as the fox gave him an accusing look.  
  
"Eheh... L-like I said..." He nervously pushed his fingers together.  
  
"The body doesn't lie. Please, as an offering of acquaintanceship."  
  
"If you say so..." He obliged, taking the bowl from her and taking sips from the soup. He smiled, the warmth filling his body and helping his mind clear. Taking another sip, he watched the rain fall outside and crossed his legs. His mind was running with questions but he couldn't even begin to ask.  
  
The fox gave a gentle grin, pulling their knees to their chest as they watched. Silence was such a golden opportunity given to them. She studied his body language as he ate, he studied how delicious his food was. Two very similar yet very different beings. The fox was more interested in watching and staying still, the hedgehog, on the other hand, preferred to jump into action and wasn't afraid of showing his emotions.  
  
"Moly."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Moly the fox."  
  
"Oh! Silver! Silver the hedgehog!" Silver blinked and gave her a kindhearted smile, holding his hand out. "Thanks for the food and saving me and all." It was as if his nervousness and shyness was gone, giving the fox a childlike grin.  
  
She took his hand and shook it before letting him return to his food. "How old are you?"  
  
"14. You?"  
  
"15."  
  
To Moly, this was interesting. A 14-year-old psychic hedgehog was able to banish a who-knows-how-old evil entity from this timeline. So close to her own age as well. He acted a lot younger than he looked and sounded like it too. Really an interesting person to the fox. How someone like him possessed the type of powerful psychokinesis was astounding.  
  
"What timeline are you from?"  
  
Silver finished his soup as he pondered the question. He's been traveling through so many pasts and futures that he wasn't even sure what timeline was his anymore. Everything has changed so much in such little time. He was certain that there were things he was supposed to remember, things he'd forgotten, but honestly, saving the future and restoring it so many times does a number on his own mind. He could only understand so much. Then again, why couldn't he remember his own timeline? He knew his age, but not the year he was born in..?  
  
"You don't have to answer."  
  
He must've been silent for too long, noticing the fox's sympathetic tone, "Ah sorry! I come from the future... Pretty sure of it."  
  
"I see."  
  
Silence again. The two of them and the sound of rain hitting Moly's tent. Silver contemplated on moving or doing something to try and break this silence. It wasn't something he liked, especially with all of these questions in his head. As much as he wanted to ask, he couldn't find the right words. He wanted to ask 'how did you get here?' and 'why did you help me?' but the words just... wouldn't come to him.

"What time are you from?" He asked her as he tried to determine the incomprehensible expression in reply.

"The future." She said with a cryptic smile, hinting to him that they were from the same timeline.  
  
"how long have you had the gift?" Moly asked, changing the topic as to not draw too much attention to her life.  
  
"The gift?" He tilted his head, trying to understand what she meant by that along with the sudden topic change.  
  
Moly took his hand and turned it over. She then showed him her palm. The two shared the same markings, his cyan, and her indigo. That triggered his memory of the battle when the fox stepped in. He remembers that barrier, the indigo arrows, and bow, her aura. She was just like him, but different in many ways.  
  
"Oh! My psychokinesis?" He smiled at her. "I've always kinda had it, really. I practice it a lot back at home and-"  
  
"In Onyx City."  
  
"Right, so like I said, I practice it a lot and- wait how did you know?!" He stared at her with bewilderment.  
  
"I was there when you saved the city from the Devourer." She smiled. "You're a hero to them, you know."  
  
He was speechless. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't afraid. This fox knew a lot about him but... How? He's never met them before. Heck, she knew his name before he even told her! Gulping nervously, he looked down.  
  
"How do you kn-"  
  
"Ever since you saved Onyx City, I have been following you." She interrupted him. "Traveling through time with you and watching as you save timelines for those you haven't even met." She watched as he slowly looked to her. "You have a kind heart."  
  
"Y-you... You're following me? I've never sensed you around! Why are you following me?! Stop it!" Silver's voice raised as he jumped out of her dry tent and into the rain, clenching his fists.  
  
The fox calmly took a step out of her tent, standing stoically in front of the anxious boy. While he appeared ready to bail or attack if needed, she remained calm as she stared into his golden eyes. She was right about her previous thought: he really wasn't afraid to take action. Not to mention he was very childlike, acting on impulse rather than thinking through his actions. Unlike a child, however, he wasn't looking for a fight. He wanted answers.  
  
"Consider me an admirer of your heroism." She walked towards him. "The battle between you and Enigma was the only time I've interjected into your business... that you know of at least. I saved your life because I was following you. Probably more times than you would even know."  
  
Silver took a step back, tripping and falling against the roots of a tree as he stared at the fox in curiosity. He was curious, scared, tired and bemused at all of this.  
  
In response, the fox knelt down to his level and held her hand out.  
  
"I am not your enemy. I am an ally. All I want to do is help you save the future."


	3. Entente

This was a first. He's never had anyone willing to help him with the daunting task of saving the future before. Especially not with someone as young as himself. Not to mention the fact that she somehow had been following him this whole time. It struck a sense of unease in his chest as he looked at her hand.

"Silver. I am not your enemy." Moly repeated.

He looked down at her hand, the gently glowing rich shade of indigo radiating from the symbol. _What do I do? I can't just team up with some random weirdo who has been following me for so long! But... then again, she did sort of save me... If she hadn't come in when she did, I wouldn't even be here. Not to mention she's shared her food and let me recover... surely she must not mean any harm if she's this hospitable._

"Okay. I believe you." Taking the fox's hand and standing up, he smiled. He didn't have much to lose by trusting someone like her, especially since she saved his life.

"Good." The fox smiled at him before heading back to her small campsite. She gestured to the makeshift leaf bed he was once laying on, reaching for her mortar and pestle as he sat back down.

"So... why do you follow me?" He began, watching as she grinds up some herbs and a bit of water. Was she some type of medic? "And uh... how?"

"Curiosity and discovery." The simplicity in her response was mysterious. She focused on her herbalism as She continued, "There aren't many like us. Not anymore."

"Like us?"

"Ones that have the gift."

Silver looked down, remembering that before he had his mini freak-out, they were talking about their abilities. He looked at his palms, realizing just how battle-scarred they were. The vibrant teal symbols on his hands were dull, indicating that he had overexerted his psychokinesis. Sighing, he set his hands to his sides as he watched the fox concentrate.

"Moly, where are you from?"

Staying silent, the fox took a bandage from her bag, smearing the paste on the cloth before looking up at him. "I was in Onyx City when you banished the Devourer."

"Yeah you mentioned that, but I've never seen you around though. Granted, the only people I've seen are either kids or working class. Not anyone like you or me."

"I don't tend to come out that much. At least not in the day." She spoke softly, in her train of thought as she treated his wounds. "Daytime is dangerous in the City."

"But how do you stay hidden? Wandering at night is strictly prohibited. Those bots, they-"

"Aren't programmed to deal with beings like us." She cut him off, staring into his gold eyes. Her expression was unreadable but stood on the lines of solemn and distant.

Silver thought about what she had said, watching as she began to wrap the bandage around his scratched up arm. She seemed out of focus as if her mind was somewhere else. Yet, she was still patching him up.

"Right... The Council- the science center, they can't find people like us. Because if they did..."

"We won't come back."

They spoke in unison as Moly tied the bandage off, setting her medicinal salve to the side as she applied to her fingers before rubbing it into Silver's knees. The shock of the cold salve on his burning scar made him wince. He was thankful for the cooling relief that followed, shutting out the shock and pain. He'd forgotten just how much hurt his body was in from that fight.

There was a dreary pause between the two of them as the rain began to lighten its downfall. The fox finished applying the salve, staring idly down at her hands on her lap.

Sensing that she was upset, Silver reached his hand out to her but stopped, thinking it was the wrong way to comfort her. Jeez, he's been alone for so long that he forgot how to properly console someone.

"I'm uh... Sorry if I-"

"No, you haven't done anything."

More silence before Moly stood up, walking out of her tent.

 _Please, rest easy. You're safe here. I will return momentarily_.

The telepath walked away into the dwindling rain. Silver, now alone in this small (albeit cozy) tent, blankly stared as he laid down.

 _Talk about making a bad first impression. "Oh hey, wanna talk about the city that everyone hates?" Good going, Silver! Way to repay this person's hospitality!_ He sighed internally as he shut his eyes. _Just how long has she been following me though?_ He opened his eyes, staring at the interior of the tent. _She said that she's saved my life more than that one time, so she must've been around for longer than I realized._

The very thought of unknowingly being watched as he battled and traveled through time made him shudder. He didn't like being followed let alone being watched or admired... at least he wasn't sure if he was okay with it. He's never seen himself as interesting enough to be considered admirable or anything like that, definitely not worth following around since that alone was dangerous. The whole point of his time travel was to undo Enigma's corruption evident of the comets that fell every so often. It was dangerous work, but he did it to save and keep his timeline together. He didn't want anyone getting hurt.

 _She said she was curious about me and... maybe she wants to help me stop Enigma?_ He sat up, now looking at the gentle rainfall outside. _If that's the case, she can just come out and say it. She seems capable enough to handle herself in battle. Not to mention her healing abilities..._ with that thought, he looked at his bandage on his arm. It still hurt, but at least that... herb paste thing was helping with the burning. _She'd help distract Enigma long enough for me to take the Astrum..._

Sighing from all the thoughts swimming around, Silver lay back down and closed his eyes. He still felt so tired and sore from that battle, besides, Moly said she'll be back soon, so maybe it was safe enough to rest for the night.


	4. Foregone

**[Argine River]  
[South island, Mobius]  
[Year 31∆∆]  
  
** _[Argentum has been resting as expected. His wounds have been healed and his energy should be back to stable levels.]_

_**[He expressed curiosity in me and my past. He knows of where I was once in. There is no more he needs to know.]** _

_**[The threat of Enigma is still looming. Today we must head back to our timeline. Perhaps the City won't be as broken as it was before.]** _

_**[Until then,]  
[Μόλυβδος]**_  
  
Finally waking up from his deep sleep, the white hedgehog rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the tent. He looked to the sky that was once a dark grey, and now a pleasant blue. It's been quite a while since he felt the sun on his face. It felt warm and inviting.  
  
Speaking of inviting, his acquaintance Moly didn't return after she left the other day. Usually, he wouldn't pay any mind to it and be on his way, but he developed a connection to the person. She's been following him around constantly and saved him, so he owed her one.  
  
He cautiously looked around, taking a few steps around the forest. Around the decayed trees and burnt grass, Moly was nowhere to be found. Feeling a little anxious to be all alone once more, Silver let out a silent sigh. He wished he could sense her or call out to her. It's so strange how the simple knowledge of someone following you can make you hyper-aware of your loneliness.  
  
 _Stop thinking so much about that! She saved your life! What if she didn't come back because she's in trouble? C'mon Silver, you can't let those negative thoughts bring you down!_  
  
Shaking his head and clenching his fists in determination, his teal aura swirled around his body and began to levitate. Surprised by his own restored energy, he observed the aura around his hands. Chuckling to himself, he dashed off into the forest. Looking high and low for Moly. She was with him for this long and saved him before. Now it was his turn.  
  
Upon seeing a bright indigo glow ahead, he slowly lowered himself down behind some leafless trees. He found her finally! Maybe if she was in trouble, then he could help her! Maybe he could pay her back for her kindness! After all, that was the right thing to do. Peering through the trees, the boy finally saw his acquaintance. She was... meditating? Over the river?  
  
 _...and I thank those of the departed who allow us to walk this land. May you find peace in the heavens above._  
  
He didn't mean to eavesdrop, quite the opposite. But the voice was like a telepathic chiming in his mind that he couldn't tune out. He was filled with an embrace similar to that of a hug. Was she broadcasting something or...?  
  
 _I ask you Axiom for your guidance as Argentum continues to purge these pasts of this evil. Please watch over us and those of the past, present, and future that require assistance. Thank you for listening._  
  
The indigo aura around the fox shrunk back to outline her body as the barrier disintegrated. She jumped back onto the bank of the river, looking back once she was on solid ground.  
  
Feeling afraid that he was caught, the hedgehog hid behind the tree. His ears twitched as the fox gave a gentle laugh.  
  
"It's okay everyone, I'm finished." The fox smiled, kneeling and reaching into her knapsack. "This is all I have for you right now friends. Please, share among each other."  
  
He heard gentle little cries of... Chao. Wait, _Chao_?! He swiftly turned to watch the fox interact with the childlike beings. There were four of them: a rich blue one, a vibrant red one, a shimmering green one and a sparkling yellow one. She was... feeding the Chao? But... that was impossible. Chao haven't existed in decades, how was-  
  
"Silver."  
  
Finally caught, the boy yelped from his name and tried to hide behind the tree once more but to no avail.  
  
"I know you're there. Come out."  
  
Ashamed of himself, he stepped out and gave a nervous laugh.  
  
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to just... listen in."  
  
The fox stared at him, a sly grin on their face as they pet the Chao's heads. "Then what were you doing?"  
  
Defensively, the hedgehog held his hands in front of himself and stammered, "N-Nothing! I swear! I-I was just trying to find you! I-I thought that since you didn't come back, I thought you..." His anxiety turned to slight irritation as the fox giggled to herself, amused by his stammering.  
  
"You thought I was in trouble. Right?" She shook her head, watching as the Chao eat and chattered among themselves. "I'm not. I tend to have some space for myself in the morning. As well as take care of these little guys."  
  
The Chao nervously watched the hedgehog as he approached closer, Red and Blue cowering slightly before going back to eating as instructed. The Green and Yellow Chao watched Silver with curiosity. They observed him before going back to munching on their fruit happily.  
  
Silver took a careful step towards the riverbank, doing his best not to upset the Chao as they ate their breakfast. "How...? I mean, you know as well as I that Chao are-"  
  
Moly put her hand over Silver's mouth, giving him a saddened expression. She shook her head as she lowered her hand, picking up one of the Chao and held it close to her. She shut her eyes as the tiny red Chao hugged her back. Silver gave her a worried expression, reaching out to her but stopping as he heard that same chiming voice in his head.  
  
 _Before they went extinct, before The Disaster happened, I found these four while I was following you. They were all alone and... deathly ill. I couldn't leave them behind to die, so I took them home with me when you- we escaped._  
  
Moly opened her slightly glowing violet eyes, smiling at Silver who looked troubled by the story.  
  
 _These little guys don't know they're extinct back in our time. They still hold hope that they'll find their kind eventually. Please don't take that away from them._  
  
Silver gave her an encouraging smile, putting his hand on her shoulder and nodding. She nodded in understanding and shut her eyes once more.  
  
"Chao!"  
  
Surprised by the sudden outcry, the two watched as the other three jumped on Silver, playing with his quills and hair as he laughed.  
  
"C-C'mon guys! Stop! That tickles!"  
  
Moly set the red Chao down to join in the fun before standing up and stretching. They watched the sky as the clouds began to slowly drift around. This time was cleared of any threat and it was time to move on.  
  
"Silver, little ones," Moly began as they turned to the tiny creatures and their friend. "We must be getting back to our time."  
  
Silver sat up, gently setting the yellow critter down into his lap. "Right, it is time we get going. Hopefully, I did the future a favor."  
  
"You always do," Moly assured him as she got on her knees in front of the Chao. "Okay fellas, come on." She opened her knapsack to them and smiled as they all hopped into the bag obediently.  
  
The two began their walk towards the campsite again, silence between them until Silver finally spoke up.  
  
"So, how come I didn't see them yesterday?"  
  
"Shyness. They're afraid of strangers, so when they saw a new face in my campsite, they all hid near the riverbank."  
  
"Awww they don't need to be shy around me!"  
  
"True, but they also haven't seen another face like mine in decades."  
  
The boy looked down at the decayed grass beneath them as they continued their walk. It seems like he couldn't start a conversation without it getting awkward lately. Maybe he was better off keeping his mouth shut. Of course, that would never happen. His optimistic attitude made him super chatty when he wanted to be. Plus, at least one of them had to talk seeing as Moly was the silent type.  
  
"So uh... what are you gonna do when we get back to Onyx Island?"  
  
"Go home."  
  
"Would uh..."  
  
Moly looked over in his direction, seeing the boy's unreadable expression.  
  
"Yes...?"  
  
"Ah... would you like to stay with me? I-I don't have a house but-"  
  
"You're homeless?"  
  
"I-I didn't say that!"  
  
Before he could reply, Moly stepped in front of him and smiled kindly.  
  
"I know how hard it is in the city. To live in it under the omnipresent eyes of The Council. It gets hard to stay hidden out there, doesn't it?"  
  
Silver looked down, seeming to agree with what the fox was saying. He blinked at her as she walked ahead of him.  
  
"I know a safe place for us to go to. Away from their eyes." Moly said as she continued her stride.  
  
The boy watched as the fox began packing up her belongings, the Chao assisting as they spoke in their little language. He helped out as well, the two nodding at each other as all were now put away. Moly gently urged the Chao back into her knapsack, smiling as they all obliged and closed the loose cover over them.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Silver took a few steps ahead of where they stood and shut his eyes. He exhaled and held his hands out. The symbols began to brightly glow, the teal and cyan fading around himself as he focused on opening a Rift portal. He struggled but managed to open the hole in spacetime, gesturing Moly through it as he followed behind.

*** * ***

As Moly landed on the other side, she watched as Silver forced the portal shut and landed beside her. He took a minute to get his bearings before looking around.  
  
"Well... home sweet home?" He gave a nervous shrug, looking over at Moly.  
  
"Prison. Nothing sweet about it." She replied coldly, making the hedgehog hide his hands behind his back and idly kick the dirt on the ground.  
  
A hyper-tech science-centered 'utopia' was what awaited ahead of them, but they had no intention of heading there any time soon. The outskirts of Onyx Island were less than hospitable, probably less than the City itself. It was pretty sad when the residents would rather risk death in the outskirts than live under constant watch and surveillance.  
In addition, the city wasn't as in ruins as it was before they went to the past. It was back to the normal... "normal" future they were more familiar with. No doubt that the bots are onto their frequent disappearances.  
  
The Fox scoffed, clenching her fists as she turned away from the city in front of them.  
  
"H-Hey! Wait for me, Moly!" Silver called out as he turned to follow her.  
  
There was a tense silence as the fox was now speed walking away from the city. The boy had to practically run to keep up with her.  
  
"Moly! Where are we going?" He called out, watching as the girl's indigo aura enveloped her body and she began to fly away. "Hold on a second!" His psychical energy empowering his body as he caught up with her.  
  
Moly slowed her speed, now idly floating over the outskirts. "Please... leave me."   
  
"No way! You just expect me to leave you when you're acting all weird and stuff? Well sorry, but that just isn't who I am." He approached her with a concerned look. "What's wrong?"  
  
Her tough expression melted into somber, her gaze turning down at the harsh ground beneath them, lost in her thoughts. She shut her eyes for a moment, then looked at him with a small sad grin.  
  
"Follow me."  
  
"Ah! You didn't answer my question!" He barely had any time to react as the fox flew off in a different direction. Struggling to keep up with her, he followed close behind.  
  
After what seemed like forever, the two landed on the entrance to a cave? It seems? The fox landed, unaffected by the long trip as she waited for her friend. Silver landed, panting as he leaned against the cliff-side next to the entrance.  
  
"Great, so we're at a cave?" He took a deep breath, looking around and trying to ignore the throbbing headache he had. "What's here? Why are we here?"  
  
"Home."  
  
Silver raised a brow, completely confused by what she was insinuating. He followed her as she walked inside the cave. They came across a glowing mushroom. Then two. Then four. Six. Eight. He stopped, wide-eyed at what was ahead of them.  
  
"Silver," Moly began as she took a step forward, shooting a violet energy projectile to the ceiling.  
  
The room illuminated, showing off damp limestone walls of rock, growing and glowing bioluminescent life around said walls and naturally growing clear quartz crystals. The amount of psychic energy in this place was... astonishing. Incredible, even. Something he has never felt like ever before. No this wasn't touched by anyone. Not the Council, not the city, no one.  
  
"Welcome to Beryllium cove."


	5. Qualm

Silver stared in astonishment at this beautiful hidden area. Never in his life has he seen anything like this; he couldn't believe his eyes. The naturally grown crystals, the auric energy, the limestone walls. It was untouched by man. Untouched by evil. The Chao flew out of Moly's bag, giggling and swirling around in front of the two.  
  
"Moly... How did you...?" He was absolutely wonderstruck as he looked around the softly lit room.  
  
They put their hand up to silence the boy, then gestured to a boulder in the very back. As they approached, Moly's indigo aura faded into illumination as she shot another energy projectile at said boulder. The obstacle was now faded as if there was some sort of spell on it. Silver watched with excitement as his friend walked into the boulder, showing him that it was now passable. He jumped into the boulder with a small giggle before looking around the crystalline room.  
  
"Whoaaaaa..."  
  
The white hedgehog looked around the room. Everything was just... So natural. Unsoiled by man or machine and free from negative energy. To his right were little hay beds with four types of large obelisk rocks at their base: Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Yellow Topaz. To his left was an open space in the protection of the walls. It was safe from the dangers outside.  
  
"This is amazing! Moly, how could you even find a place like this?!" He asked wide-eyed with a star-struck tone.  
  
Moly smiled, softened and intrigued by his curiosity. "You've never ventured outside of the city, have you?"  
  
"Rarely, but I've never found anything like this!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms out as he stared at the citrine walls.  
  
"Well, allow me to welcome you to my home."  
  
"Chao, Chao!"  
  
Moly grinned as the four chao fluttered up to her and attached themselves onto her body. "Sorry, our home."  
  
"I thought you were homeless." He replied, turning to face her.  
  
"I never said I lived in the city."  
  
Silver was in too much awe to focus on that, instead, he walked over to the geode wall and carefully felt the pointed ends. The raw psychical energy was rewarding to him, filling his body with a calm sense of grounding. Something he hasn't experienced in decades.  
  
"How has The Council not found this? They usually know everything about the outside." He muttered as he turned to Moly.  
  
She set her knapsack down as well as the four chao (who went to explore their home once more) and set her sleeping bag up in the space. She stayed silent at the mention of the council to which Silver noticed until she spoke up again.  
  
"They can't find out."  
  
Silver nodded, understanding that a magickal place like this would most definitely be torn apart for scientific study. The thought made him angry at how selfish The Council was. Every and anything that was of psychic power was usually farmed by The Council and disposed of. They used that energy as a form of research, using it to further their disgusting science studies. That was when he remembered his friend's obvious discomfort to the mere mention of The City and The Council.  
  
"I'm sorry for asking again but, will you answer my question? Please?" He asked as he watched her sit down against a smooth section of the wall, her knees pulled up to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them. "When I mentioned the City once we returned, you kinda stormed off."  
  
"It would be best if you left me alone."  
  
Silver knelt in front of her, giving her a pressing look. "No, I won't. Something about The Council bothers you. Trust me, I know that suffering in silence never helped anybody."  
  
The fox averted her eyes before Silver followed her gaze, forcing her to look at him.  
  
"Look, I know we just met, but you saved my life back there. You've been following me for Chaos knows how long, and you've been nothing but helpful. Let me return the favor."  
  
They knew Silver was this way. Through the time travel and even in The City, he was always helping people even if it meant he'd get repercussions. He made it his mission to banish Enigma whenever a piece of their future began to corrupt. He risked his energy and being to help those he didn't even know. He really was a kind-hearted soul in this heartless future they were in. Still, the fox was wary. They found it so hard to trust anybody after what The Council did. Ever since...  
  
"Moly. I'm asking you, as a friend, please tell me." His stern look turned to concern as he noticed her spacing out. "What... What happened to you? Was it something The Council did?"  
  
Moly shook her head. _Please stop... I can't..._ Memories beginning to flood her mind. _No, don't be vulnerable. not around a stranger, you can't._  
  
"Moly?" He tried to reach out to her as she began to shake.  
  
 _You can't see me like this, you can't. Please, don't touch me..._  
  
"Please stop..." She muttered, her voice cracking.  
  
"I will when you tell me what's wrong." He carefully put his hands on her shoulders. "Moly, what did The Council-  
  
" **STOP!** "  
  
Without warning, the fox grabbed his wrists tightly and stared at him with her amethyst eyes glowing with a fierce panic. Silver gasped from surprise as he locked eyes with Moly, his sense of awareness and control was ripped away from him. He found himself watching this telepathic movie. Various incomprehensible scenes flashed by at rapid speeds making him dizzy. He tried to break free from Moly's stare but to no avail.  
  
The scenes were mixed and nonsensical, going from woodlands to the City, from toys to plants, from two smiling people to the mysterious Council.  
  
The room was spinning in his peripherals as they continued to stare. Suddenly, a shaking scene became clear into his mind.

  
  
He was in a shadowed room with his hands and ankles bound by energy beams. There was a single light on him as the room radiated an uneasy tension. He stood at knee-length beside an elegantly dressed black fox with long straight gray hair. In front of her was The Council.  
  
 _"Agatha. You know that The Council cannot allow the existence of a witch-child in Onyx City."  
"Yes."_

_"No please! It isn't her fault! She was just playing! She doesn't have anything like you say! She's special, she's-_

_"A psychokinetic child with unpredictable abilities that may cause the destruction of this world."  
"Yes."_

_"My daughter is not like that!"_

_"Unpredictability cannot be precognitioned."  
"Yes"_

_"Stop talking about this like you know my child! She is-"_

_"Born with a curse from Chaos himself. You know beings like them are impossible to rehabilitate."  
"Yes."_

_"Your idea of rehab is doing heinous things to those that defy your science! You've taken people to your Center and they never come back! You will not take my daughter!"_

_"Then you shall be the receiver of punishment for allowing a cursed soul to wander."  
"Yes."_

_"Look at me baby, look at me."_ The older fox stared into Silver's eyes. _"Don't be scared okay? Mommy will be back and we can play again, okay sweetheart?" Tears fell from her face as she smiled. "Mommy loves you."_

 _"Seize the enabler and bring her to us."_  
"Yes"  
  
Silver watched as the older woman was shocked in the back, disabling her as she fell to the floor with a thud. He felt a harsh pain in his chest, noting as he acted without his control and cried out in protest. A large Security Bot stomped towards them, grabbing the mother before teleporting with The Council.

  
  
Then awareness sucker-punched his chest, bringing him back to the present. He panted, falling back on his hands as Moly let him go. He was so confused, so lost. What the hell did he just see? His mind was racing with even more questions, spinning with vertigo as he tried to make sense of what just happened.  
  
Still, in her episode, the fox pressed her back into the wall and cowered as if she were afraid. Afraid of... Silver?  
  
He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times before his vision cleared and the room stabilized. Groaning and clutching his head from the intense headache, he sat back upon his knees as he gave Moly an apprehensive look.  
  
"M-Moly... What... What was that?"  
  
"Please don't! P-please... Please don't..."  
  
He sat there, watching the fox cower. It was a stark parallel to her strong spirit she portrayed just the other day, this was completely out of the blue. He didn't understand what just happened, but whatever it was. it hurt his heart. It felt as if his mother was ripped away from him.  
  
  
  
Oh.  
  
  
  
"Moly I... I won't hurt you, I promise." Silver spoke calmly and gently, making no attempt to touch her as to not startle her more.  
  
"Don't take me away, please!"  
  
She thinks I'm The Council, doesn't she? He thought as he began to piece things together.  
  
"I'm not going to take you away."  
  
"Please just... Leave me alone."  
  
Silver stayed silent. To be honest, he had no clue what he was doing or how to help his friend. He never had any experience with panic attacks or anything like that. He was just too much of an optimist to feel such things sometimes. As an optimist, it was his duty to fill others with hope and positivity. This was no exception.  
  
"Moly, can you look at me?" He asked.  
  
Shaking with complete fear in her eyes, she slowly looked at Silver.  
  
"Do you know who I am?"  
  
"T-The Council..."  
  
"No, I'm Silver. Remember?"  
  
The image of The Councilmember began to blur in Moly's eyes, shifting between reality and flashback.  
  
"You've been following me for a while. You helped me banish Enigma yesterday. You saved my life." he tried everything he could to snap his friend out of it. "Remember?"  
  
"S-Silver..?"  
  
He smiled and nodded, "yes, there ya go. Now say my name again."  
  
"Silver..."  
  
"One more."  
  
"S-Silver."  
  
"Now who am I?"  
  
"Silver."  
  
He watched as the fox's panicked state began to fade. In her eyes, the flashback began to fade, showing a concerned Silver instead of The Council member. Realizing that she was now vulnerable, she hid her face in her hands and began to cry. He gave her an empathetic look, scooting closer to her as he cautiously wrapped his arms around her.  
  
The fox shuddered from the embrace before finally giving in and hugging him back tightly. The first time in decades that she held another person. She cried into his shoulder, letting her guard down and allowing herself to have this breakdown that she held back for so long.  
  
"Silver, I... I'm so sorry..."  
  
"Don't be. It's okay."

  
**[Beryllium Cove]  
[Mystic Bay, Mobius]  
[Year 56××]  
  
** _[Argentum has seen a weak point in me. He expressed assurance towards Those Ones and apologized profusely for bringing them up so many times.]_

**_[He shows high levels of clairsentience, knowing when something was off. He attempted to persuade me to speak even when it would hurt. In return, I had accidentally protected those memories unto him.]_ **

**_[As he sleeps in the sleeping bag next to me, I worry that my inability to control my telepathy during such strong episodes will cause him distress. As much as I wish not to speak about myself, I may have to explain a little to him.]_ **

**_[I'm sorry for the strain I put on you, Argentum.]_ **

**[Until then,]  
[Μόλυβδος]**


	6. Liberosis

** [Beryllium Cove]  
** ** [Mystic Bay, Mobius]  
** **** [Year 56××]

**_[Argentum fell asleep while holding the chaos after he calmed me down. He seems to have made himself comfortable here despite my... moment of pathetic weakness. I cannot sleep knowing he is sharing the same space as I. Maybe I will sleep later once he is awake.]_ **

_**[I am allowing him to share the same space as I to keep him safe from Them. I trust he will not abuse it.]** _

_**[ I owe him for putting up with my idiotic actions and... making him see those things. I apologize, Argentum.]** _

_**[I am writing this as I watch the clouds pass in the starlit sky. I wish I could take a picture of this moment as the dancing flicks of light dance above.]** _

_**[Mother would tell me of folktales from many years ago, people would give names to stars and the designs they would piece together. Orion, Lyra, Aquila... I always found it to be some sort of supernatural thing. Giving names to things we don't speak to.]** _

_**[Strange, I heard a whisper just now as the wind blew past me. She spoke, "the moon will rise as the sun falls". A passerby was more than likely telling me something.]** _

_**[I must be dreaming because I don't believe in ghosts.]** _

**[Until then,]  
[Μόλυβδος]**  
  
  
"So, only we can see this place?" The white hedgehog asked as he took a sip of his tea.  
  
"Well, to any other person, this cave is just some sort of empty hole in the cliffside." The fox answered, taking a bite of her apple.  
  
Silver raised a brow, not quite understanding what she meant. Moly glanced at him, amused at his questionable expression before gesturing to him. "I didn't understand it either, but Axiom told me that magickal places like this," she looked around the crystals in the room, "can only be visible to people like us."  
  
"...how?"  
  
"I'm not quite sure myself. From what Axiom said, it has something to do with these marks." She held up her hand, showing her identical circular markings.  
  
There was that name again. Axiom. He wanted to ask who they were, but he also didn't want to appear as pushy or intrusive. Nodding as if he understood (which he didn't), he took a sip of his tea before...  
  
"Chao!"  
  
The rich honey-colored Chao chimed as it flew in front of Silver, stealing his cup playfully. The boy laughed and got up to chase it.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Moly watched, a smile forming on her face. She hasn't felt this carefree in a long time. Everything felt so right about this, just having someone with her. Not that she took her loner nature for granted (as it made her a better fighter), but she liked the banter and a chance to get to know Silver after following him for so long.  
  
Especially since last night. He comforted her like she knew he would, but he didn't fully understand what had happened. It took hours for her to fully explain without breaking down, but he finally managed to grasp what happened. He may be naive, but he could understand by emotions alone. Something Moly was unfamiliar with but interested in, another ability they shared.  
  
"Give it back, Topaz!" The boy called out playfully as he barely caught it, tea spilling onto his fur. He groaned but was beyond glad that it wasn't scalding hot. "Aw man."  
  
"Chao..." The little Chao, affectionately named Topaz, gave him a sad look as if it were regretful.  
  
Unable to be angry at an accident, he sighed and gave the creature a little grin.  
  
"It's alright buddy, accidents happen." He pet the Chao's head. He smiled as the Chao nuzzled into his hand and the little emotion ball above its head turned into a heart.  
  
"There's a hot spring a bit away. We should head there to clean up." Moly suggested, standing and gently taking the cup from the Chao and putting it in a separate knapsack.  
  
"A bath does sound pretty nice..." Silver muttered, messing with the fluffy mane on his chest which was stained with green tea.  
  
The chaos (Scarlet, Cobalt, Topaz, and Jade respectfully) all vocalized in excitement as they attached themselves to the two teen's shoulders.  
  
Silver smiled, rubbing the sides of the Jade and Topaz's heads before appearing concerned. "Would it be safe to bring them?"  
  
"Won't be the first time," Moly replied as they both walked towards the entrance. "They stay close to us, so they won't be noticed."  
  
"Right. I'll keep them close!" Silver nodded and smiled, gently taking Jade and Topaz and holding them in his arms.  
  
"Good. Now follow me."  
  
Both of their psychical auras flared as they levitated above the cliff. They stayed close to each other as they flew over the treetops. Silver looked down, noting the fading green grass beneath them was now a dry dead wasteland. Thinking about where Moly was taking them, he shuddered in fear.  
  
"Uh, Moly? Are you sure you know where-"  
"We're here."  
  
Moly landed as did Silver as their auras dissipated. She looked over at him and slightly laughed at his amazement.  
  
The lush area around them was full of trees and uninhabited space. In front of them was a steaming pool of (comfortably) hot water that was untouched. Surrounding the pool were various rocks and small colorful flowers. Compared to the decayed grass that surrounded it, the pool looked rich and inviting.  
  
He watched as Moly set her backpack beside a rock and sat down on it. The Chao on both of their shoulders happily flew around before pulling Silver along.  
  
"A-ah! Hey guys! Hold on a second!" He stumbled towards the hot spring but stopped as he took off his clothing.  
  
"Alright guys, let's do this!"  
"Chao Chao!"  
"3...2...1... GERONIMO!"  
  
The white hedgehog jumped along with the Chao, splashing into the warm water. Moly smiled to herself as she protected herself from getting wet with a small barrier.  
  
For such a small looking pool from the outside, the depth of the water was underestimated. It was around eight feet deep, which wasn't a big deal to Silver since he could swim. The warm water engulfing his fur was beyond relaxing; after enjoying his moment of inner peace, he swam up to the top to catch his breath. He grinned at the Chao who dipped themselves in and out of the water playfully.  
  
"Hey, Moly! C'mon in! The water feels amazing!" Silver exclaimed as he pushed himself onto the side of the hot spring, sitting on the rocky edge.  
  
"No thanks. I'm alright." She politely rejected his offer.  
  
"Please? You deserve a break too." he turned his attention to his friend.  
  
"Silver..."  
  
The boy held his hand out to his friend, smiling kindly. "You have the time. Use it to treat yourself."  
  
Moly hesitated. She wasn't used to taking time out for herself at all. She would either be training or be busy following Silver which left her no time to relax. Weighing her options, she gave him a slight smile and began to undress.  
  
Setting her outfit down next to Silver's, she took his hand and settled herself in the water. Sighing in content, she took a breath in and dunked her head under the warmth. Back at the surface, she reclaimed her spot on the edge next to Silver and began to run her indigo claws through her thick wet hair.  
  
"Chao!"  
  
Topaz and Jade chattered as they played around the pool while Scarlet and Cobalt where relaxing peacefully in the spring. The two hyper Chao fluttered around each other before accidentally knocking themselves into Silver's back, pushing him into the water.  
  
"AAh!-"  
  
Realizing what they've done, the Chao began laughing as Silver resurfaced. His five once perky hair quills were now plastered sopping wet over his face.  
  
Moly watched and did her hardest to stifle a laugh, but failed. She placed her fingers to her mouth as she began to laugh carelessly.  
  
Silver, having heard her laugh for the first time, pushed his quills from his face and blinked a few times at his friend.  
  
 _She's laughing..._  
  
He blushed before laughing himself, trying to grab at the Chao to get back at them.  
  
Words were insufficient to explain how much both of them needed that. Just the chance to forget about their dystopian world and be kids for a short time was worth it. Not to mention having a bath was beyond perfect for their moods as well.  
  


*** * ***

Now dressed, the two sat on the branch of one of the nearby trees, staring at the clear blue sky. The four Chao were napping in the shade beneath them. Silence aside from the breeze around them now. It was calm. Serene. Just the two of them enjoying each other's company.  
  
"Thank you." Moly finally said, her eyes not straying from the sky.  
  
"I uh... Didn't do anything." Silver replied with a confused chuckle.  
  
"Just... Thank you." She looked at him, smiling softly. "I never had a chance to... Enjoy myself like that. Take a break, relax..." She closed her eyes before placing her hand on top of Silver's. They could feel the passive chaotic pulses underneath their gloves. She looked back into Silver's shy golden eyes. "Thank you for letting me be a part of it."  
  
Silver's face flushed red as he looked down at their hands. They were touching. Anxious, his shaky fingers curled around Moly's and gave a sheepish smile before turning his gaze back to the blue sky. His heart was pounding in his chest as he smiled to himself before staring at the sky again. Why was this such a heart-racing moment? It was just hand-holding. He'd seen people do it before, so what was the big deal with Moly?

Well, for starters, they seemed to have a deep mental connection to one another despite having not met before. There was some sort of force entwining them together; whether it was their telepathic amplifiers or simple knowledge that they've been together much longer than they realized, they shared some strong closeness. Not that it was romantic at all! Not in the slightest! You can hold hands with a friend and not have it be romantic, right? You can feel nervous when being shown physical contact after being touch-starved for so long, right?

Lost in his thoughts, he began to idly swing his legs as he watched the clouds pass by. He couldn't help but wonder what lay past their vision, on the other side of their small planet of Mobius. Was it a different world similar to Gold's? Another reality? An alternate dimension? These thoughts always confused him, leaving him with more questions than answers. What if there was space beyond the outer atmosphere, a place full of stars and beautiful colors one can only dream of witnessing, like the ones he had learned from Professor Von Schlemmer. Many different things laying undiscovered by the residents of their futuristic planet. 

_Hey._

He jumped slightly by the sudden voice speaking to him.

 _Yeah?_  
Look.  


Silver glanced over at Moly who was pointing at a shooting star... in the daytime? There were no hints or news about a meteor shower. Unless... that wasn't a regular star. His brooding expression turned to earnestness.

_That isn't a star, it's a Rift._

The two looked down at their hands at the same time before slowly letting each other go. What an odd thing physical contact was.

"You get the Chao, I'll find out where we need to go." The white hedgehog stated as he surrounded himself in his teal aura and jumped into the sky. 

He surveyed the area then turned to the star. Closing his eyes, he tried his best to quiet his mind and increase his hypersensitivity, hoping it would help him predict the landing spot of the asteroid. As the world around him began to fade out of awareness, an image started to piece itself together in front of him. A lake, north of Station Square, south of Winerville... Never Lake. It would be there, if not, in the general vicinity at the least. 

Silver exhaled slowly, letting awareness come back to him slowly. He opened his eyes and watched as the star began to fall closer. He let himself down, landing beside Moly who was swinging her knapsack over her shoulder. He helped her zip up the bag just enough to keep the Chao safe and secure.

"Ready?" He held his hand out to Moly.

She took his hand and gave him a grin as she nodded.

The two hesitated to land as they stared at the small crater a couple of paces north of the lake. Determined, Silver landed to where the asteroid was as he waited for his fighting partner. The two nodded before the hedgehog took a step forward near the Rift asteroid, summoning his energy and pulling open a portal with surprising ease. Gesturing her through, Silver waited until Moly was through before diving in himself.


	7. Rootless

What lay on the other side of the Rift, was a truly scary sight. The timeline they were in was the very definition of catastrophic. Broken buildings, debris, overheating temperatures, specks of embers and ash dusted the area and streets. What did Enigma do to this world...?  
  
Moly checked her knapsack, smiling reassuringly at the Chao before she zipped it up securely. She watched as Silver landed on his feet and took a few steps forward. He stopped to observe the disarray of this version of the past, looking surprised at the stray embers and ashes.  
  
Just ahead of them was their enemy-- Enigma. They heard a chuckle as the being turned to them. This was the first time Moly was able to get a full view of them.  
  
The coyote was a light beige, three individual strands of spiked hair were dangling in front of their rich bronze eyes. They had a medium-length tail and perky ears, white belly, and hands. They wore a pair of deep brown and emerald green gloves. They wore an earthy tunic that ended at their waist, accompanied by a pair of black and moss-colored elephant shorts ending with a pair of bright green and black boots. Finally and most perplexing, was the glowing colorless Merkaba 12-pointed star crystal that was encased in a glass cage attached to a silver metal necklace.  
  
"Back again, are we?" The coyote spoke with a smart tone, staring at Silver. Their eyes glanced at Moly and grinned. "And you brought a playmate."  
  
"Cut the talk!" Silver spoke up, walking ahead of Moly towards Enigma. "This is about you and me, leave her out of this."  
  
The coyote could only give a cold laugh before turning away from the duo. Something about them was off as if they didn't wish to battle. Their body enveloped in a static aura, levitating into the air as they turned to Silver.  
  
"Come at me then, 'hero'."  
  
Silver's teal energy swirled around his body as he dashed to Enigma.   
  
Moly stood back, watching cautiously and following them as they would get farther away from their starting point. Indigo covered her body as she levitated a safe distance from the two.  
  
Unexpectedly, the coyote didn't fight back and instead opted to dodge and hover away from Silver.  
  
"Ha! What's a matter? Afraid you'll get your wolfy butt kicked again?" He taunted as he followed, raising rocks and hurling them at the coyote.  
  
"I'm not a wolf! I'm a coyote!"   
"Same difference!"  
  
The taunt irritated the coyote, turning to face Silver as they shot a darkened energy projectile at the hedgehog. Fiendishly grinning at Silver's cry as it shocked his body, they dove down from the sky and hovered over something neither Moly or Silver were expecting to see.  
  
Moly let herself drop down from her levitation onto the cracked streets and stared in horror at what lies below. Silver dropped in front of Moly, taking steps to the edge and staring in disbelief.  
  
A large swirling pool of lava akin to that of a volcano. A core of some kind. The heat was indescribable, embers rising from the pool and lava rocks sinking into the center.  
  
"What the hell..." Silver looked up at Enigma, his aura springing to life as he lunged at them. "What did you do?!"  
  
Enigma kept their composure, holding their hand out and protecting themself in a gray barrier. Said barrier protected them from Silver. "It isn't my doing, boy." They vaguely stated before lowering their hands and staring at Silver. Their barrier remained.  
  
"Funny that you don't remember this place."  
  
"What are you talking about?" The boy questioned, getting fed up at the vagueness. He looked down at the lava pool below them.  
  
 _Keep your focus. You don't wanna end up down there._  
  
Enigma smiled at the distracted boy as they hovered closer to Silver, static beginning to leech into his bright teal energy. The coyote watched in amusement as Silver's energy began to feed into Enigma's power sources.  
  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about."  
"N-no I don't!"  
"Then allow me to jog your memory!"   
  
Enigma shouted as they telekinetically pulled Silver close to them and shoved him back onto the cracked pavement with a loud impact. Moly glared at the being and summoned her bow and arrow, shooting at the coyote who dodged them.  
  
"First, you must be eliminated," Enigma spoke coldly as they teleported behind Moly, faking her out as they shot a sharp static spike into her back.   
  
Moly gasped from the shock to her spine and fell to the ground. Her whole body was numb as if every limb was paralyzed. All she could do was watch.  
  
"Perfect. Now stay that way, Vixen." The spike fizzled but the paralysis remained.   
  
Silver struggled to get up, the shock to his body from the tingling static was lingering in his power sources. It was almost impossible to focus on rendering his psychokinesis useless.  
  
He finally stood, eyes wide as he saw Moly laying still on the ground.  
He ran to her side as he passed the coyote. "Moly!!"  
  
"Stop." Enigma caught Silver in a choke-hold but was careful enough to not asphyxiate him.  
  
"Now, how about this," Enigma began as he sent a shock of static through Silver's body before letting him drop to the ground. "Instead of fighting a battle that you will clearly lose; we play a game."  
  
"W-what are you talking about?" Silver struggled to say as he forced himself to his feet before falling to his hands and knees.  
  
"A game of Who Am I. With a twist."  
"What?"  
"I list names you know, and you, you just listen."  
  
Silver stood up, trying to summon his energy but it fizzled out. Enigma watched and shook their heads, flicking their hand at the boy's legs as he collapsed.  
  
"The city. This city."  
"Yeah, great job, you're s-smart enough to know what a city is."  
"No you dunce, what is this city called?"  
"I-I don't know! I don't care either!"  
  
Silver struggled to his feet once more, his weakened legs were tingling with static as he fell back to his knees. Enigma knelt to Silver's level. Something about the look on their face was disconcerting.  
  
"Your name is Silver, isn't it?"  
  
Internally, he was petrified. How the hell did they know his name? He never told them it! Regardless, he had to keep his composure.  
  
"Do you remember Blaze?"  
  
Silver blinked a few times before shaking his head. "Who's that?"   
  
"She was... Well, let's just say she was stupid. You, however, are cruel."  
  
Silver was beyond confused. He honestly had no idea what the coyote was talking about. He didn't even know this city, all he knew was his enemy was here and was trying to... Well, do whatever he wanted to do.  
As the static began to lessen in his limbs, the boy stood and clenched his fists. "Excuse me?"  
  
Enigma stood up and gave a grin. "You heard me. You, silver boy, are cruel." The coyote threw his hands into a shrug and remarked with a snarky attitude, "dealing with amnesia must really suck. Unless you're faking it of course. Who knows. Maybe you just want to forget everything she did for you."  
  
"Cut the crap, Mangy!" Silver shouted, "I came here for one reason and that is to stop you! Quit rambling about nonsense and hand over the Astrum!"  
  
Enigma shook their head, feigning sympathy for his naivety. They held the glitchy glowing crystal in their hand. "What a pity. I suppose you'll need to learn the hard way."  
  
The two glared at each other before they both made a move. Silver shot a telekinetic projectile to which Enigma dodged. They forced Silver back as he skids on the soles of his shoes. Before he could make another move, Enigma trapped him in a static barrier.   
  
Unlike last time, however, this barrier didn't hurt or drain the life from him. Instead, it froze him still by locking his limbs. Just like static itself, the barrier has no color and was simply filled with white noise. Silver began to levitate against his will, struggling and trying to break free from the invisible grip.  
  
Moly weakly pushed herself onto her hands, glaring daggers at Enigma before looking at Silver in disbelief. She struggled to form her bow and arrow but lacked the concentration from the white noise in her ears. She was useless, only good for watching this dreaded exchange.  
  
"Astrum of all that is and ever will be, Astrum that can reshape the world to a wish, Astrum that holds the past, present, and future!" Enigma announced, their voice echoing as they held their hands to their sides. The Merkaba began to glow with an ominous luminosity. "Show this soul what he has forgotten! Show him the past! Show Silver the hedgehog the truth!"  
  
With a sudden bright white light, the barrier glowed before fading into the sky. Silver's body was levitating slightly and wrapped in a swirling bright blue and green static energy, his eyes staring at the sky with a blank expression.

  
_The same molten core was in front of him. A city in ruins, an apocalyptic future set in misery. The boy slammed his fists into a concrete pillar in frustration._   
  
_"What's the point of all this? It'll never end."_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Calm down, Silver." A soft-spoken purple cat came into his view. Her attire elegant and proper, appearing somewhat of a princess. A look of empathy in her rather unreadable expression._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Then tell me what we should do. How can we completely destroy Iblis?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _The hedgehog's eyes went wide, watching and reliving the flashbacks as his consciousness was thrown into the depths of his mind._ _  
_ _  
_ _Another scene overlapped. A bubbly pink hedgehog girl in a red dress was walking ahead of him. She turned to watch him as he stared at the wonder around him._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Everything is so great here, isn't it? The sky is gorgeous, and everyone's happy..."_ _  
_ _  
_ _The scene was overlapped again, this time a scene of a marina complete with boats and the sounds of the sea._ _  
_ _  
_ _"So this is where you are. I've been looking for you." The purple cat spoke up as she approached him. "What's wrong?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Well, uh, Blaze. To kill someone to save the world..." he turned to face her. "Is that really the right thing to do?"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Even watching this person who he never met, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. This girl, he had to have known her. This feeling of longing was too powerful to miss._ _  
_ _  
_ _"You're so naive. Whether it's right or wrong, I can't really say..." Blaze put her hands on her hips, gazing out to the sky with him. "But what I do know is if we don't take this chance, the future will remain exactly as it is."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Kill? Who did I kill? What happened?_ _  
_ _  
_ _  
_ _"Chaos Emeralds, lend me your power! Eternal Sun! The Living Flame that has been entrusted to the royal family! Fall into slumber with my soul, Iblis! You cursed Flames of Disaster!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _He was living this. The burning that pulled through his chest with each shock from the blazing energy in front of him. This wasn't a dream. This happened. This felt too real._ _  
_ _  
_ _"No! Why won't it accept me as the vessel?" He cried out, shouting as the pain began to overwhelm his very soul. He weakly looked over as Blaze set her hand on his shoulder. "Blaze..?!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _"I'll take Iblis. Don't worry. My soul is already alit with flames. I will be accepted."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Blaze, this girl, took the emeralds from his shaking hands and used their power. She gasped as the emeralds absorbed the flame, light shining in her chest as fire swirl around her._ _  
_ _"Come on, make it quick. Use your Chaos Control... to stop time. Then... seal us into a different dimension."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Clutching his chest in pain, he protested, "No! I can't do that to you!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _Blaze gave him a harsh demanding glare. "Didn't we already go through this? We agreed to save the world at any price!"_ _  
_ _  
_ _He felt his heart-shattering at the thought of sealing Blaze away. He tried to harness his energy to do as she commanded, but couldn't. He just... Couldn't bring himself to do this. Not to her. Not to Blaze. Not to the last living person in this time._ _  
_ _  
_ _"I can't! I wouldn't know what to do without you!" He shouted in protest, approaching Blaze as a desperate child. "You've fought alongside me to save the world... You're my friend... Right?" He did his best to keep his demeanor strong. He never let his negative emotions surface. Never. But this... This was too much._ _  
_ _  
_ _"You're still so naive. But..." Blaze turned to face him, their eyes locking on each other as she gave him a sad smile. "I... I've always liked that about you."_ _  
_ _  
_ _Silver watched in helpless despair as his friend took matters into her own hands, energy shockwaves out around them as the emeralds fell from her grasp. Her body began to float up, her very being disintegrating into nothingness, into another dimension._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Blaze!" He tried to grab her, tried to hold her hand to keep her with him. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't lose her...! But, she was soon out of his grasp, floating and vanishing into the void. Disappearing into nothingness._ _  
_ _  
_ _"Good luck, Silver."_ _  
_ _  
_ _He stared at the clouds as they parted, rays of sunlight vanquishing flames and fire around the lone hedgehog. Their future was saved but... He wasn't happy. He couldn't be. Finally breaking, he fell to his knees next to the chaos emeralds and began to cry. He was all alone. Alone in a future with nobody other than himself._   
  


  
  
The barrier faded, Silver's numb body being set on the ground as the luminous light vanished. His gaze was brought back to the mimicked city in crisis around them. Now he knew. He understood who Blaze was. He knew this city. He... Felt broken for the first time.  
  
"You know as well as I do that happiness is always trapped in misery, Silver." Enigma's voice spoke, still standing in front of the crestfallen hedgehog.  
  
"Now, why don't you join me?"  
"No..."  
"What if I told you that you could see her again?"  
  
Silver slowly looked at Enigma who extended their hand to him.   
  
"All you need to do is take my hand and then I will-- AUGH!!!"  
  
Enigma was violently pushed back by an indigo arrow, piercing their arm. They straightened up and hovered away from the fox who chased them.  
  
 _Silver, I need you to work with me here!_  
  
He sat there, staring downtrodden at this hands as he blankly looked at the symbols on his hands. He couldn't move. He didn't want to. The overwhelming stimuli of memories and overlapping realities were tripping his psyche out to the point of not being able to reply to Moly.  
  
"Will you just perish?!" Enigma growled as they summoned noise-filled spikes, firing them at Moly.  
  
Wordlessly, she dodged the attacks and swiftly teleported behind Enigma, and readied another arrow. She held her breath, taking careful precision on the target. Time slowed from her point of view as she filled the arrow with her intentions. Exhaling sharply, she shot the arrow.  
  
Enigma shouted as the arrow pierced the back of their neck, severing the caged Merkaba necklace. Their aura disintegrated, sending them plummeting to the concrete with a violent force. The necklace tumbled to the ground, shattering the cage as the crystal flickered with static.  
  
"I-Idiot!!" Enigma struggled to say as they coughed and sputtered, their body bloodied yet miraculously unbroken. "W-without a power source, t-the Astrum will shatter! Reality will fall apart! Y-you, don't realize what you're doing!"  
  
Moly shot an arrow towards Enigma, just barely missing as her focus was being thrown off.  
  
 _Silver, grab it!! Destroy it! Throw it into the lava!_  
  
Annoyed that he was just sitting there, Moly dropped down and ran for the Astrum.   
  
_No, don't! I can't lose another person... I can't._ ** _NOT AGAIN_** _!_   
  
Moly stopped dead in her tracks, clutching her head at the telepathic shouting. Silver's intense cyan aura shot around himself and Moly, immobilizing her as he dashed to her, wrapping the fox tightly in his arms in a panicked state. He hovered over the lava pit, watching in trepidation as Enigma lunged for the Merkaba.  
  
The coyote gave Silver and Moly a dark smirk before the static aura returned to them. They opened a Rift and chuckled before disappearing into and closing it.  
  
Silver tightly shut his eyes, his focus almost breaking as his mind began to replay the memories. Forcing just enough, he threw his hand out and opened another portal. Swiftly, he jumped in as he tightened his hold on the fox.


	8. Idiosyncratic Megalomania

_"W̵h̨e͡n͢ ͟will you ͜le͠ar̕n that y̶oų ͘ne̢ed̷ pati̵enc̢e̴ ͝to̸ d͠efea͠t t҉hat h͞e̛d͡gehoģ?"_  
  
"When you let me have total power!"  
  
 _"You͘ kn͠ow we c̛a͜n't ̵do̴ ͟t̷ha̷t.͝ What͜ yo͢u pl͠a͞n t͢o̧ do ͏with̶ t̨h͝e Gi̢ft̶ ͡a̷n̵d͠ th̶e A̸s̛tr҉u͡m ̨i̢s̢ ̵w҉h҉at͟ wįl҉l̶ ̴d͞ev͜astate͢ ͢th̸ȩ ͢wo̢rl̛d."̷_  
  
"If the other side is destroyed, then Spatium will take its place! Do you know the opportunities that brings?"  
  
 _"W̨e̕ ͢als̶o ̧kn̵o҉w͢ what kind of̧ ͟ḑeca͜y̡ ͜our w̶orld̢ will͡ f̷ac͡e͘."_  
  
Enigma groaned in exasperation as they aimlessly floated, disembodied shadowy black arms healing their wounds.   
  
Spatium was an odd place in between two separate planes of existence. There were vast amounts of nothing, stars speckled around the sky, gravity didn't exist, but you could still breathe. The only other being that existed within this world was a formless void accompanied by an incorporeal static-filled shadow that stayed by Enigma's side. To them, Spatium was the only place that made sense. A place where the laws of the Universe were inverted. A place free from the weight of living.  
  
Lifting their hand and staring at the Merkaba, Enigma sighed with confusion. This little star, a 12-pointed colorless rock, held so much potential and many secrets. The very thing valiantly hummed with an odd frequency, glowing a faint white color with tiny specks of color.  
Enigma sat themselves up in the anti-gravity space, holding the levitating crystal in their palms. To say this creation was otherworldly was an understatement-- it was transcendental. Something they didn't fully understand but could feel the infinite energy radiating from it. So much potential and power that they couldn't comprehend.  
  
 _"Some͞t̛h͜i̶ng ͞is͜ ̶on ͘y͘our͘ ̵mi̢n̷d͡.̢"_ The static entity spoke with eerie gentleness to the coyote.  
  
The Merkaba was surrounded in a light static energy, recharging what little energy was used previously inside the crystal.  
  
"Noise, before I left earlier," Enigma began, watching as the star recharged, "you said something about the Astrum being some sort of record keeper."  
  
 _"Co͏rre̡ct̴."_

"How was it able to... Know all of that about Sil-- that hedgehog?"

 _"The As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕ can see all timelines, all preexisting and broken pasts. To the untrained, that which isn't remembered never really happened. But the As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕ never forgets; it is all-knowing."  
_ "That's what I don't get-- how?"

_"It is all that exists from the beginning to the end. Before the Universe's creation, there was a single entity. That entity is the_ _As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕_ _."_

  
The canine raised an unamused brow as they turned away from the entity. "This doesn't make any sense."  
  
 _"R̸e͟a̡l̸i̕ţy͟ d̴oȩsn̛'͢t m̡a͢ke an̡y sense."_  
  
The coyote felt a tingling shockwave through their spine as the entity pressed itself into their back.  
  
 _"The body you inhabit is only ve̶rif̨i͘cati͢o̢n of one's own existence. Without an organic form, you would be endl͞es͏s and n̕o̸nex̵istent."_ The white noise humming moved to their ears, filling their brain with emptiness. _"Orga҉ni͢c҉ b͢odi͟es only have substance within the memories of other organics. The physical body exists at a less evolved plane only to v͡erify one's ȩxis̴tence_ _in the universe. The body is a mere shell of the i͠nf̸in͘ite sou͜l͞."_ The static left their body, leaving them dazed and beyond entranced. They turned to face the entity as it vanished from their view. _"Physical real̵ity͏ is nothing but an illusion, a hologram of the information that flows to us. If it is all a fal͘s̕i̶f͠ie̴d͟ ho̴l̵og̢r̴am based on informational_ _synąpses̕_ _relayed to the brain, then how can you believe what you are seeing right now?"_

Enigma pondered the question, confused at how something can exist while also not existing at the same time. Questions about reality, proof of existing, feeling as if illusions and clarity were blurring around them. They couldn't handle the thoughts of derealization or reality, the very mention of questioning such things made them feel broken. They gasped in surprise as the entity fizzled in front of their eyes, the Astrum implanted into the cellophane chest as the being shifted into a mirror image of Enigma themself.  
  
 _"If ͡th̵e ̵only me ͠is͜ me̕,̛ ͞t҉he̢n ҉ḩo̧w͜ ͝ca̵n yo̧u͠ be̕ ͞sure̸ ͢tha͜t th͜e͠ o͠nly ̡yo͘u҉ ͠is̵ ͜y͟ou?"_

They looked down at their hands in anxiety, seeing the neon green circular symbols pulse with chaos energy. Noise, the entity, held no real resemblance to their own physical self. It wouldn't have taken that form if they were simply formless. Infinite like the Astrum: an omnipresent entity that can or cannot exist.  
  
"I don't feel too good, Noise." The coyote muttered as they tightly shut their eyes, trying to keep their grip on reality.  
  
 _"The longer you deny the tru͢t͞h͟, the more it'll hurt."_  
"What truth?"  
 _"The truth that reality can be a҉l̡tered̢."_

The coyote looked at the mirrored static entity in front of them as the form vanished into nothingness once more. They stared in confusion at the crystal that elegantly hovered in front of them.  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
Static numbed their body once more, freezing them as the entity spoke to them. A collection of memories began to play in their mind's eye.  
  
 _"Life was hard for you. Always beaten and broken down. You were left with n̷o͡thing."_  
  
Enigma watched the flashback with a trembling breath. They were a child, only 6, tending Onyx City Orphanage's garden alone. The warm feeling of static nostalgia made them feel safe, at home. The safety didn't last-- next, they saw their younger self beaten, shoved into the cold snow, and surrounded by taunting female orphans. Then the males joined in. They made fun of them, antagonizing them for their androgyny.   
They could hear the voices of their teachers not believing the bullying. The audio hallucination seeming oh so real to the teen made them stifle a sob as they shook their head.  
  
 _"To escape your life, you sought out the_ _As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕_ _. You dedicated your life to finding answers. You fought tooth and nail to enter Spatium."_  
  
Enigma was presented with a shaky image of them at age 14, practicing meditation while in nature, hoping that maybe they would find contact with their object of interest-- the Astrum. Visions flashing before their eyes of catastrophe followed by prosperity and ending with an extended static hand. As the coyote reached for it, the image faded to white.

 _"You finally reached us, and that was when you became infatuated with the_ _As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕_ _."_  
  
They saw themselves now, 16, and fighting against Silver and Moly previously. The Astrum having taken over most of their personality and soul from corruption. Their own motives for doing what they did and acted on was messy and fragmented. All they wanted was to escape to somewhere safe, a place where they believed they couldn't be hurt.  
As the memories vanished into nothing, they were left there crying from the painful memories as static embraced them.  
  
"W-why...? Why are you reminding me?" Enigma cried out in pained frustration as they jumped back in the space. "You convinced me that I could create what I wanted! You told me I could reshape the world and reality to what I wanted, yet you refuse to give me that power!" they shouted, clenching their fists. "It isn't fair... Why won't you just let me have that freedom?"   
  
_"As l̛o̶n̸g͘ a͘s t͠hat He͢dg̵e̡h҉og͟ li҉ves, y̶o̕u͜ ̵wi͝l̴l͏ ̶n͡e̢v͡er ͞b͡ȩ ̶a̢b͞l̨e to ͜a̕c͡h̸ie̛v̶e͡ ţh̛a̵t̛ re̕a͡l͟ity̧."_

"But I can't beat him. He's too smart and strategic."  
  
 _"S͠o you ͢t̵hink͜, ̧y͟ȩt҉ ̶y͠ou ̵l҉ea҉ve out̸ ͟one͜ thi̢n͠g."_

Enigma felt static in their body once more as the Merkaba levitated to them again.  
  
 _"A̷ll ͞you͞ n̨eed͝ t͡o d̵o i͡s b̶eçom̷e͘ th̷e v͝es͘s͡el͟."_


	9. Retrograde Amnesia

The portal forced itself shut at Silver's command as the two tumbled back into their world. The once bleak and desolate city has changed to the small crater where the meteor had hit. The cyan aura faded as Moly forced herself out of Silver's grasp. She clenched her fists as she stood over the boy, catching her breath from the previous ordeal.  
  
"What the hell were you thinking?! Do you have _any_ idea what you just did?!"  
  
Silver staggered to his feet. Panting from exhaustion as he shook his head. "I had to, Moly." He muttered, walking past her. He levitated himself out of the crater, walking slowly into the forest of dead trees. "They showed me something. Something that I'm not even sure happened." His gaze turned to the blue sky. "It felt so real..."  
  
Catching up to him, the fox shook her head and began to speak angrily, "You know as well as I do that without the Astrum, Enigma is powerless!" She raised her voice, ignoring his statement. "I was able to separate them, but you let them have their power back! Why?" Saying she was angry was a vast understatement. She was livid. "I tried to destroy it, Silver!"  
  
"If you touched it, you would be corrupted." He replied, struggling to keep his composure. His gaze turned to the deteriorated grass under his feet as he walked. "It doesn't just change reality, it corrupts the soul of anyone who touches it."  
  
"But I thought you fought to do anything to save the future!" Moly spoke back, sounding shocked at his disposition. "Come on, Silver! You wouldn't have even had to touch it to destroy it!"

_"Didn't we already go through this? We agreed to save the world at any price!"_

Silver shut his eyes and shook his head as he tried to continue walking. Guilt and grim heavy in his body, making him tremble slightly. He stared blankly ahead as he continued. "Moly, you don't understand. I... I can't destroy it. It isn't from this world, we can't-"  
  
"That hasn't stopped you before! No matter what was in your way, I watched you turn the tables!" Her will to fight some sense into him was getting ahead of her. "You're always hopeful, wishing and fighting to keep this broken world together!" She growled as he walked ahead, hanging his head in shame.  
  
"Silver, if you're serious about wanting to save the future," Moly began, anger seeping from her lips as she grabbed his wrist, forcing him to look at her, "then you will open another Rift, and we will pursue them like I know you would."  
  
Weighing his options as he looked into Moly's eyes, Silver pushed his intrusive memories away. Moly's right, the future- their world- was in danger and he is the only one able to stop Enigma. He's always stronger than he thinks, and Moly knows this. He can do this. He was strong enough. There were things left unexplained, questions left unanswered, there was still a big threat to their timeline. Like it or not, he had to fix it.  
  
He nodded as he turned away from Moly and held his hands in front of himself. He closed his eyes as a rather dull teal aura faded slowly in his palms. Moly crossed her arms, waiting for the Rift to open impatiently.

_"But what I do know is if we don't take this chance,"_

Silver's eyes opened, hearing that disembodied voice on repeat again. It was messing with his concentration big time. The harsh reality and guilt that his once best friend was completely rewritten out of his life was tearing at his heart. He wasn't sure how long he could keep his composure... No! He had to keep it up, he had to keep trying! For the sake of the future

_"The future will remain exactly as it is."_

His hands were shaking now, tears welling up in his eyes as he struggled to keep his focus. The teal aura was fading in and out of visibility, occasionally illuminating in a bright flash before swiftly returning to a broken energy. He was sullen, resentful, ashamed.

_"Good luck, Silver."_

With a heavy sigh, he dropped his hands to his sides sharply exhaling and clenching his fists, his head hanging in shame and sadness.  
  
Moly took a nonplussed step towards him. "Silver, what's wrong with you?"  
  
He felt his legs give out, falling to his hands and knees as he quivered. That was real. It was a real thing. That happened. It all felt so surreal and painful. His only friend, Blaze, someone who sacrificed her life for the sake of the world, was forgotten by the one person she trusted. How could he do that? Time change or not, how could he have forgotten his best friend? More importantly, how the hell did Enigma know all of that?

_"You're still so naive..."_

He knows he's just some naive kid that struggles to stay confident. He choked back a sob, not caring how he appeared to Moly anymore. He wasn't perfect and chaos knows he's made more problems than solutions. He wasn't a hero, he wasn't a savior. He was just some kid trying to write himself into the history books, but he seemed better off erasing himself. Naive, low self-esteem- was it time to add "world's worst friend" to the list as well?  
  
"Silver."

_"I've always liked that about you..."_

Moly went silent, watching as Silver began to cry, pounding his fist into the ground over and over again as he let out strained cries through gritted teeth. What was his problem? What happened to him? What did Enigma show him? Whatever it was, it must've been on the lines of distressing. Her anger was long gone, replaced with concern and worry for her friend. She may have gone too far, trying to guilt him into fighting again after he was already so exhausted. Not to mention that if she so much as touched the crystal, it would've corrupted her as well. He saved her from that corruption. Not at the best time or in the best way, but it was an IOU off the list. The... one item long IOU list.  
  
Seeing her idol so broken made her feel just terrible, especially since she caused most of it. Now guilty, she turned her back to Silver. She went too far, not that she meant to but her anger got the best of her at times. It was beyond hard to control her fighting spirit once it ignited, wanting to obliterate her target no matter the opposition. She had to remain calm and try to snuff the flame out for now. Silver, her fighting partner, was distraught and she had to help.  
  
"Moly I'm so sorry." Silver choked back a cry, looking at her as tears freely fell. Upon hearing no reply, he let himself sit on the ground and hid his face in his hands.  
  
Moly sat on her knees in front of the boy and gave him an unreadable expression. There were so many conflicting emotions brewing in her heart. Was she empathetic? Sympathetic? Concerned? Angry? She had to show him some form of comfort like he had with her, but... she hesitated.  
  
"Chaoooo..."  
  
The four Chao managed to force themselves out of her knapsack, fluttering over to Silver. Topaz was the first to attach itself to Silver's chest fur, Scarlet resting in between his spiked quills that lay back against his head, Jade attached itself to his arm and Cobalt sitting in his lap. The Chao cooed softly, attempting to calm the boy as he continued to cry while tightly holding onto the honey-colored Chao.  
  
Moly watched as her little friends tried to console Silver. She's never seen them take to a stranger so quickly... maybe there was something she couldn't sense. Looking down at her hands that rest on her thighs, she silently exhaled as she indecisively took Silver's free shaking hand.  
  
"I don't know what happened, but," she began as she glanced away before looking into his glassy glowing eyes, "you can tell me what's wrong. You said Enigma showed you something, so wha-  
  
"H-how do you forget someone who meant a lot to you, Moly?" His voice was hoarse and trembling, tears streaming down his face as he set Topaz down next to Cobalt. "How can you care and want to protect someone so much, but..." He choked back a sob, tightly screwing his eyes shut as he clenched his fists. "In the end, it doesn't matter at all? What if everything... memories, friendship... what if someone tore it all away?" He looked at her, desperately searching her royal amethyst eyes for an answer only to be met with an indecipherable response.  
  
She didn't need to know what he was shown to understand where he was coming from. He was asking something she was all too familiar with: the subject of loss. The feeling of someone shredding away the very person you felt deeply connected to. Feeling grief, guilt, that gut-wrenching feeling that you could've saved someone. You had to be stronger, you had to be more than what you were capable of. If only you did this, if only you did that, if only you did something more. She didn't press him for details, instead she did something that she's never done before- she wrapped her arms around him. The Chao fluttered away from his lap as they rest on Silver and Moly's shoulders.  
  
Physical interaction was so foreign to her. She hasn't felt it in... many many years until recently. Her heart was beating heavily against her ribs as she tightened her grip around the white hedgehog. She worried in the back of her mind if he could feel her nervousness, their bodies pressed together in a tight yet securing way.  
  
Silver sat there, unsure of how to react. He hasn't felt such a tight yet gentle embrace since...

 _"Silver, I understand it is difficult to extinguish the flames. However, hope for the future is not lost, we can still save it."_ The voice spoke clearly in his mind as he tried to keep himself from thinking more about it, but of course, it was no use. _"As long as you live, hope lives. Do not let the world extinguish your flame."_ He felt a familiar warmth course through his fur, prompting more tears to freely fall.

He choked back another strained cry as he tightly hugged Moly, hiding his face into the nape of her neck as he sobbed.  
  
Moly could empathize with him. She had lost her mother by the hands of The Council many years ago, her memories still locked away in the deepest recesses of her subconscious. She allowed him to cry into her shoulder, comfortingly and slowly stroking his long white quills down. She had to remind herself- Silver was a whole year younger than herself and didn't experience the same trauma as far as she knew. What he was feeling-grief- was a new and scary thing to him. Her ears twitched slightly as he began to speak again, his voice muffled in her shoulder.  
  
"I don't get it Moly!" He pulled himself away, holding onto her shoulders as he stared into her eyes. "Why... Why do we forget things like that? Why? How can...Why is it that whenever I have a friend, they _NEVER STAY?!_ " He shouted as he bawled, cyan aura flaring to life in a violent flash. "They either DIE or they're _ERASED_ from history! _IT. ISN'T. FAIR!_ "  
  
Moly watched him, slightly taken away by his outburst of emotion, but kept her calm composure. The Chao fluttered behind Moly, whining and cooing in concern for their friend. She knew exactly how he felt. It was too real. He wasn't an idol to her anymore- he was a person. Someone just like her that was capable of feeling deep and intense emotions. He wasn't just a shell of hope to protect the future- he was human.  
  
"Calm down, Silver." Her tone held no hostility or harshness, only calm and softness. "Do not get yourself worked up."  
  
Silver jumped back using his psychokinesis, his eyes a sullen shade of aurum. "You don't understand, Moly... I... Blaze..."  
  
"Blaze?"  
  
"She... I..."  
  
"She was someone dear to you, wasn't she?"  
  
Silver clenched his fists as his aura only intensified, unable to control the gravity of his power. Eyes tightly shut, multiple rocks and decayed trees ripped themselves out of the earth as a thin outline of teal surrounded them.  
  
Moly watched as he lifted rocks and tree stumps and trunks. _I don't know who she is or was, but he cared about her._  
  
Moly stood up, unafraid of him if he were to do anything. She had to show that she wasn't scared of him, that he wasn't a monster for feeling such pain so intensely. The Chao held onto Moly's shoulder, showing their tiny support for Silver as well.  
  
"I understand, Silver."  
  
"No... no, you don't..."  
  
"Silver, please. I don't want to-  
  
 _"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"_  
  
Moly didn't flinch as the debris he controlled slammed intensely into the ground. He didn't aim at her, he couldn't. He was... just hurt. Very hurt. The cyan aura began to dim, indicating that he was overexerting his power from his intense emotions. She walked up to him, placing her hands on his cheeks and forcing him to look at her.  
  
"I know you miss your friend." She spoke calmly, staring deeply into his dull eyes. She felt as if she was staring into his very soul as she continued, "I know you're feeling a barrage of emotions right now. It feels like somebody has pierced your very being with the sharpest of spears. I know, I have been in your shoes." She spoke with emphasis, keeping his eyes on her. "Getting angry and wanting to destroy the satisfaction it'll give you for a brief moment is no way to handle such emotions. It's hard, Silver. I know it is."  
  
Silver's intense aura began to fade, the shine in his gold eyes slowly returning as he was brought back to the present time. This wasn't Crisis City. Moly wasn't Blaze. Iblis wasn't Enigma. He wasn't in that timeline anymore. He was in Mobius 500 years into the future and tasked with protecting his world.  
  
"Silver," Moly began. "The world is a harsh, unforgiving, and cold place; You," She moved her hands from his tear-stained cheeks to his chest. She closed her eyes and felt his rapidly beating heart in that tiny rib cage before looking up at him. "Do not let the world make you that way. Silver..."  
  
Silver's eyes went wide as he stared at Moly, hearing that same voice in his head overlap with Moly's as she spoke.

"Don't let the world extinguish your flame."

Silver wanted to cry more. His heart ached so painfully with those words, those little reassuring words he had heard so many times from Blaze. Those same words now blending from past to present as if they were traveling from his insensible subconscious into his conscious mind. He has no more tears left, he was so exhausted that he could hardly stand. He had so much hurt in his body from everything. He collapsed into Moly's arms as she caught him. He apologized and tried to stand back up, but she wasn't having any of it.  
  
Moly helped him sit against one of the larger leafless trees, sitting beside him as they did just a few days prior. The four Chao fluttered to his lap and chest, holding him in a comforting hold as a small smile spread across his face. Watching him carefully, his eyes closed and his breathing began to slow to a steady pace. She was glad he was no longer hurting to such an extreme, but this was only temporary.

  
**[Unknown Location]  
[Mystic Mountains, Mobius]  
[Year 56XX]  
  
** _[Argentum and I have more in common than I had previously thought. He has proven to be not just a capable and fear-worthy foe, but just as human as any other one of us. He was far surpassed by my definition of what a "hero" is.]_

**_[He is a child, a teenager with a sensitive and kind heart. He was at risk for the most harmful effects of this world. And yet, he continues to keep hope alive. He is the definition of a hero. Even beaten down to the point of being emotionally broken, he still managed to keep his sense of identity and reality. He is a brave person.]_ **

**_[in another manner, Argentum has difficulty controlling his power when pushed to his emotional limit. He has unearthed many rocks, boulders, and decayed specimens without lifting a finger. Granted, this could be a fantastic fighting advantage, but it will ultimately result in overexertion of Argentum.]_ **

**_[I plan on teaching him how to control such painful outbursts for the next few days. So long as Enigma stays clear for the allotted time, things should be okay.]_ **

**[Until then,]  
[Μόλυβδος]**


	10. Addendum

** [Approx. 56 km from land]  
** ** [Southern Sea, Mobius]  
** **** [Year 56XX]

**_[It has been a week since our last confrontation with Enigma.]_ **

**_[Argentum and I have been keeping our spirits up, keeping hope alive while still regaining control of our emotions. I have taught him how to come to terms with what happened and he returned the favor. I never knew there was a side to him that felt things so deeply. It enraptured my interest in knowing more about him.]_ **

**_[This morning, Argentum had spotted another falling star after a long wait. He suspected it to have crashed somewhere in Sanpelagroso-- a mysterious location off the coast of South Island.]_ **

**_[Now armed with the emotional stability, we began our journey.]_ **

**_[This time, we_ ** **_ will _ ** **_defeat Enigma.]_ **

**[Until then,]  
** **[Μόλυβδος]**

Moly paused for a moment as she finished writing her closing statement. She looked out to the vast ocean around, then to the hazy island ahead of them. That was the place. The place where their hopefully final battle will be had. She thoughtfully added something to the footnote of her entry.

**_[P.S. Do not let your heart overwhelm your mind. You have a job to do. A world to save. Do not disappoint.]_ **

"Moly, are we there yet?" Silver groaned as he slowly lifted his head from his held knees.

"Silver, you know we aren't anywhere close." She stated, putting her journal into her backpack. "Please stop asking."

The boy gave an annoyed sound as he rests his head on his knees again, his arms only securing them to his chest as he shut his eyes in defeat.

The four Chao were watching in amazement at their reflections in the sea, laughing and splashing each other playfully. They certainly weren't as uncomfortable as Silver was, nor were they as serious as Moly. They were just being kids and having fun, but they were within their limits to ensure they didn't lose their guardians.

It has been about 3 hours since they had left País Misterioso, having traveled for any signs of trouble and ultimately coming up empty. Until early today when Silver spotted a shooting star and heard a distance rumble. They didn't hesitate to make their way towards the point of impact.

However, there was one thing standing in their way-- miles and miles of ocean. Definitely too long to levitate without collapsing from exhaustion, and no Rift to travel through. Their only option was to go en route via a marine vessel.

Now, not living in Onyx City or being familiar with any sort of nautical knowledge made their choice and options vastly limited. They couldn't just build a raft and go on their way, it would've fallen apart from the ocean's current. Stealing from the City was out of the question due to the heightened security bots. The only place refutable was País Misterioso, which lucky enough, they didn't stray far from.  
The settlement was less than hospitable, feral mammals and big cats lurked around every corner, waiting to strike. Old decrepit and abandoned lodges lie in ruins and previous lush vegetation was now lifeless. It was the same as the other sections they've been to, lackluster and extinct.

Fortunately, they were able to scavenge up small canned food from abandoned lodges and even found a small (narrow wooden two-seater with a reasonable gap between the front and back seats) old-fashioned fishing canoe. The native felines must have used these boats to venture the oceans and fish for work before they eventually went extinct.  
Now, they were drifting on the ocean in their quaint little vessel. Moly at the front and observing the waves ahead, and Silver who sat behind her and was trying to block out anything having to do with said waves.

Moly took the thick branch they had been using to paddle forward and calmly pushed the water to the side, assisting their forward motion.

"Can't we just go back? Or fly there?" Silver asked, already knowing the answer.

"We aren't going to head back when a star fell in our proximity. You know this."

"What about flying?"

"You'd pass out before you even got to five miles. Besides, we were extremely lucky to have retrieved what we found at País Misterioso. You're just going to have to deal with it."

Moly pulled the branch from the water and set it horizontally in the space between them. She turned to face Silver who was blankly staring down at the teal ends of his boots as well as the rich wood of the canoe as if any of it was interesting at all. His eyes seemed unfocused and seemed pale, his body rigid and still.

"I know you don't like this, but it's the only mode of transportation we have." She reminded him as if he had forgotten. She knew he didn't, but she had to say something to help him.

Despite being able to levitate and fly at high altitudes (ones that didn't affect him physically) and velocities, he hated anything having to do with physical gravitational motion-- motion that he himself wasn't in control of.  
He was able to do incredible things with his psychokinesis-- lift exceptionally heavy objects, levitate against the force of gravity, remain unaffected by things outside of his auric field, temporarily immobilize his enemies-- but when he wasn't using his abilities, he was just as vulnerable as anyone else.

He didn't get motion sickness normally or easy (having been too used to levitating at high speeds his whole life), but being on-board this niche watercraft was proving to be a small trigger for it. It could've been the repeating up and down movements from the waves, or the chance that breakfast just wasn't sitting well. The fact that their canoe was just a typical two-person capacity and so low to the water only accentuated the motion.  
He was so bored.. and sick. Bored and sick. It took all he had to keep from retching up breakfast, but luckily the urge wasn't overwhelming. The ocean was fantastic and all, but not when you have lingering queasiness in your body. He groaned exasperatedly and melodramatically as he threw his head back and stared at the sky.

"A tad overdramatic, eh?" Moly gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Not that I'm not enjoying this or anything," he looked up at her as he rests his cheek in his palm, "but what do we have to do to pass the time? I mean, normally I wouldn't complain, but we've been slowly going in the same direction for hours."

There was something about this annoyed-little-kid demeanor that made her give a silent laugh. She shook her head and searched for her knapsack.

"Hmm... Well, are you hungry?" She asked. The only response was a nauseated whine. Of course, he wasn't. Setting her pack down, she watched as the Chao fluttered around the sides as they played around. She leaned forward a little, gently rubbing Silver's shoulder in a comforting way. "You know, trying to block out the world won't help." She stated, watching as he opened his half-lidded eyes. Stubborn, he closed his eyes once more.

"Chao Chao!" Topaz exclaimed as if agreeing. It sat atop Silver's head with a smile. Jade chimed in agreement as it sat between his boots, sitting on the floor of the canoe.

He smiled meekly at the Chao beneath him, looking up to meet the happy energetic one on his head. Sadly, his smile didn't stay too long before his mind was thrown back to the nauseating motion.

"Why do I feel like this? It's awful." He asked as he crossed his arms across his knees, eyes still partially droopy.

"It's called 'travel sickness'. It'll pass." She replied, keeping her patient composure. She took his hand, her thumb brushing past the gently pulsating teal symbol.

"But I'm not sick."

"Not the kind you're used to. This kind of sick happens when your mind doesn't register movement properly."

"But I know we're floating up and down on the water, and..." He went quiet before groaning sickly, hiding his face in his hands as his stomach turned from the mention of it. He felt Topaz gently pat his head.

Moly sighed and shook her head. He wasn't dumb, he knew what she meant but just wanted to try and distract himself, which to his dismay, wasn't working. She thought for a moment before smiling to herself. Turning to the side of the vessel, she put her hands out in front of herself.

A soft blue-violet light faded into her palms as the canoe's movements began to stabilize slightly. This caught Silver's attention, moving his hands from his face as he looked around. The four Chao clamored together by the sides of the watercraft to watch their guardian in awe. The waves were slightly less aggressive as they were before (not much, but to Silver they were), having gentle rolling movements that made the unbearable motion somewhat tolerable.

"You... You can control water?" He asked as he watched his friend intently, nausea lessened and was replaced with curiosity. "How? I mean, does it work the same way my psychokinesis does?"

Moly's ears perked up at his curiosity, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. She turned to face him and surprisingly didn't let her concentration drop.

"I've had this gift since I was a kid." She began, the calming hue shrinking to focus on one spot of the water. "I have similar telekinetic reaches too, but they take a lot more out of me. I only save it for battles."

"Like your archery equipment, right?" The white hedgehog asked as he leaned over the side of the canoe, watching as Moly managed to separate and orb of water from the endless ocean. He was so astounded, his golden eyes bright with excitement and wonder, not even paying attention to his friend's grateful expression or the slightly lessened seasick feeling in his body.

"Right." The fox turned away from the side, holding the levitating orb of water in the indigo outline. "Hydrokinesis comes a lot easier for me than psychokinesis. Same with Telepathy; It is much easier to use telepathy than to speak vocally for me."

Silver watched in bewilderment, smiling softly as he listened to her speak. Finally, after a week, she was opening up more and more to him. She told him about her father's fate, how she escaped the Science Center and how she followed him through his travels. Not to mention that she was a fair enemy in their sparring matches together.

They had gotten a lot closer to each other. Moly trusted him and he trusted her. They traveled everywhere together, took turns caring for the Chao and, more recently, began to show more physical intimacy. Hugs were becoming common as with hand holding, they both didn't mind any of it.

Moly closed her eyes, focusing the blob into a figure of some sort as she began, "From what my father said, there aren't many of us who can control the elements. At least not anymore." She gave a sour look at Onyx Island in their distance.

Silver gave her a look of worry before speaking up.

"Is it hard? To control the water?"  
"No, it is quite easy."  
"Is there a limit?"  
"Of course, I cannot control the entire ocean."

Silver smiled and blushed in embarrassment as Moly laughed at his question. "Hey, I don't know anything about elemental stuff!" He tries to defend himself, an incredulous look on his face.

The Chao resumed their playful behavior, flying up and circling above the two passengers heads as they played catch with one another. The two watched as the Chao played above them, smiling before gazing at the clouds. 

Moly could only smile, something she was finding more and more easier in the company of Silver. The cold sturdy wall she had built around herself was breaking down, finding herself vulnerable but secure. He listened when she spoke, helped her control her panic attacks and taught her what he knew about the Astrum and Felsic.

He was always so interested in her and vice-versa, always wanting to learn about each other and learn about themselves. They were equally matched when it came to power, shared the interest of a peaceful world and both were determined to save their time. The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that their meeting in the past wasn't just by chance.

"You know..." Moly began, moving her hand to the ocean, settling the orb back to the body of water and letting nature take control once more, "I haven't been the best friend. I've made mistakes, made you feel hurt when I tried to push you to fight," she paused, turning her head away from his eyes, "I questioned you too much about Blaze."

Silver went quiet, his gaze turning down to look at the wood of the canoe once more. He's still torn up by the amnesia about Blaze, only having gotten to the point of being at peace with it. That's the kind of stuff that happens with time travel. You lose people. He won't lie, it hurt a lot; Losing memory of people you cared about--people who cared about you-- felt like you were missing a piece of them in your heart. While he did his best not to think too much about it, it still crossed his mind now and then.

Moly watched his expression change from listening to brooding. Worried that her words had upset him, she leaned over and wrapped him in a tight hug. 

"I'm sorry for putting you through so much."

Silver could only sit there, red-faced and wondering why she was hugging him. He wasn't sad, he was... well, maybe a little sad, but not from her. She hadn't done anything wrong.

"Moly, I--"

"Silver," she pulled herself away from him, staring deep into his quizzical gaze. "I know what you're going to say, but trust me when I tell you this." She hesitated for a moment before exhaling slowly, her face blushed. "No matter what happens to us, no matter if the world falls apart, no matter what Enigma does..." She delicately placed her hands on his cheeks and rest her forehead against his, "I'll stay by your side."

"Chao~." Jade and Topaz landed next to Silver's feet and watched while Cobalt and Scarlet sat across parallel to the other two Chao that chirped in agreement.

The silver hedgehog's face was red as can be as he stared into her amethyst eyes before she closed them, their foreheads still touching and noses inches away from each other. What does he do now? Just sit here? How do you respond to something like that? His mind was racing with questions as his heart pounded. He gulped nervously as he shakily took her hands.

"I..." He finally spoke up, prompting Moly to open her eyes to give him her attention. "I'll stay by your side too." He finally said in a hushed whisper, his voice was timid.

The fox smiled, seemingly reassured by those words, leaned in and held him close. Her hands slowly moving from the top to his lower back, stopping just below his back quills.

Silver shuddered from the gentleness of her touch, his heart beating faster. This was a new touch... something he wasn't used to but it felt secure. There was an energy here that he was unfamiliar with. Moly never moved her hands from his shoulders when they hugged, this was the first time. Assuming it was okay and he had the permission to, he repeated the same motion, moving his hands under her coat to feel the fur on her lower back. He smiled as he shut his eyes, resting his head against her shoulder as she gave a light ghostly chuckle.

This was strange, but it was a good strange. Something that the two of them didn't want to end.


	11. Gravity

**[Sanpelagroso]**   
**[South Island, Mobius]  
** **[Year 56XX]**

**_[We have arrived on the island safely.]_ **

**_[I've been feeling more and more comfortable around Argentum, trying to show that I care about him on an emotional level than anything else.]_ **

**_[But we aren't here on a vacation. We're here to put an end to Enigma.]_ **

**[Until then,]  
** **[Μόλυβδος]**

**\-------------------------------------------------------**

"See anything?" Moly asked, levitating over the surprisingly lush rainforest that claimed the remote island.

Silver was doing his best to try and find where exactly the comet was, yet his vision was hazy. Something- no, _someone-_ was preventing him from seeing it. He clenched his fists in annoyance, trying to connect himself more to the comet he had seen and yet... it was nowhere. He couldn't see it, couldn't sense it and couldn't find where it had impacted.

"No." He opened his eyes and huffed as he crossed his arms. "This is pointless, I can't see anything."

"Not even a point of impact?" Moly levitated up to Silver, looking out in the direction he was facing.

"I could've sworn there was some sort of crash... I could hear it." He gave an uneasy glance back out, his eyes scanning the northern part of the island.

"Shall we go search?"

"We don't have a set direction, that's the problem."

"That hasn't stopped you before."

"Maybe not but," He flew a bit ahead, Moly following close behind, "without a point of impact or smoke or something, we're powerless. There's nothing we can-"

They didn't have to move any further as they both yelped in surprise as a sonic boom crashed in front of them. The impact shook the earth below them, knocking some trees loose as the two held each other protectively as they were pushed back by the shock-wave. Silver did his best to stop them from going flying, managing to withstand the worst of the energy.

Both of them opened their eyes as the shock settled, fear and anxious visible in their expressions.

The previously beautiful island full of rich greenery was now the same as the Outskirts- a broken fiery land that radiated hostility. Who knew what kind of destructive energy was surging through Mobius...

"Are you ok?" Silver immediately asked, having been too used to surprise comets like this, tightly held his friend.

"Yeah, I think so. What about you?" Moly replied with a shaky voice.

"I'm fine... But this isn't good. The rate at which these rocks are falling will cause devastation." He spoke, gently letting Moly go as he hovered over the newly embedded meteor. He thought for a second before turning to Moly, "Let's go."

Setting her knapsack down in a safe and secure tree hole, she took one last look at the Chao who looked back at her. She smiled as she pet all of their heads before catching up to Silver.

"Right. Let's finish this."

*** * ***

Something felt... Off about this world. Everything was eerily still, there was no color, the sky was full of tiny specks resembling stars. The only hue was a foreboding emerald energy in the distance. Nothing but silence between the fox and hedgehog as they floated towards the faint glowing orb.

"There's something seriously wrong here." Silver stated, worriedly looking around at the monochromatic world around them. "This world, it... Feels wrong."

"I agree... It feels..." The fox paused, stopping in her tracks as a tingling feeling surged through her body.

"Wrong." Silver finished, feeling that same white noise course through his veins.

_Silver..._

The two froze upon their discovery: Enigma levitating in the center of a ritualistic circle, surrounded by an emerald staticized barrier with an emotionless expression, their eyes completely shadowed over by an empty green hue.

"E-Enigma...?"

Silver took a step back as the aura intensified, taking some cautious steps ahead as he clenched his fists.

The coyote shot the two teens a glare, static spears firing in their direction post-haste. Countering, Silver threw his hands up to create a barrier to shield Moly and himself. Normally, he wouldn't even flinch at such an impact, but there was something about these spikes, these impaling rods created of mind-numbing white noise, that threw off his concentration.

Dropping his barrier, Silver's cyan aura flared to life around him as he growled in irritation. Before he could act, however, Moly grabbed his arm.

_Wait._

_We need to stop them before they kill us, Moly!_

_Calm down. Look._

Moly pointed to the coyote's sternum. Lodged inside was the Astrum, the all-powerful crystal. Static was emanating from the star, spreading out from their chest into the barrier. The barrier of energy surrounding Enigma was distorted, warping the image of the being within the center. Without even moving, static projectiles shot in every direction around them. They weren't in control of this, not this sense or act of reality alteration.

 _The Astrum, Silver; you said if it is connected to someone, then they become a puppet._ Moly spoke to him, taking a step forward before summoning her bow and arrow, her indigo aura surrounding her body as she levitated with Silver.

_Yeah, and?_

_Is there a chance to save them?_

Silver paused for a second. He... hasn't given that thought. He only knew what the source of destruction was, the Astrum, and Enigma was merely protecting it. All he had to do was separate the two entities and seal away the cause of destruction, but this... He wasn't sure of. Maybe there was a way to separate the two of them without sealing both of them away in Felsic.

 _I never thought of it. I know it's beyond dangerous to handle but..._ He thought, looking to the coyote. _If there's a chance to save them, we need to take it._

Moly readied her arrow, aiming for the coyote. _I'll distract them, you try to weaken them until I get a clean shot._

_Right._

Without hesitation, Moly pulled back the arrow and squinted her eyes as she aimed for their chest. Exhaling, the arrow fired only to be misdirected by the barrier to pierce Enigma's arm. The coyote didn't even flinch, that was the most unnerving part.

Silver launched himself to the coyote, picking up multiple colorless debris and throwing them at the barrier. He dodged multiple spikes that pricked out in every direction, their eyes remaining unfocused and glazed over.

"Enigma! I know you can hear me!" The silver hedgehog shouted, dodging another projectile as he lifted a broken boulder and flung it at the barrier which had begun to crack.

Moly levitated up, her bow and arrow aiming straight for the back of Enigma's chest. Until the barrier was destroyed, she couldn't make any move. She hated waiting like this, but she has to be patient.

_You can't speak to them. They cannot hear you._

_You don't know that!_

Silver's attention being caught off resulted in him being slashed by a spike, static numbing his body as he slid onto the monochrome earth. Struggling to stand, he glared at Enigma.

"I _know_ you can fight that thing, Enigma!" he continued, his hands trembling as he tried to focus his power, "you can't let it control you!"

Noting the cracked weak spot in the barrier, he shot a psychic projectile at the imperfections. A grin swept across his face as the coyote gasped out in surprise.

_Now!_

Within a second of his command, Moly releases the arrow. A bright indigo trail followed the slicing of the air as it traveled before coming to a dead stop in the middle of Enigma's upper back.

Silver stood, hands on his knees as he doubled over panting from the sudden static leaving his body. His aura regenerated as he immobilized Enigma within the cyan energy.

Without a shred of an afterthought, Moly flew to them and teleported in front of the coyote. Her archery equipment dissipated only to be replaced with an ethereal aragonite dagger. She raised it over her head as she focused on the point in their chest.

_Moly wait! Don't touch it!_

Angered from the interruption, she shot a harsh glare at Silver.

_Then you tell me how we're supposed to separate them!_

_You might_ _kill_ _Enigma if you just stab them!_

_Not possible, Silver! My weapons only stun my targets!_

_Dang, it... Moly, just-!_ Silver's telepathy grew desperate as he fought against the static emerging once more from the crystal. _Fine, dig it out of them quick!_

_Hold them steady..._

_I got them, just..._

Moly exhaled, clearing her mind as she said a prayer to Axiom. _Just sever the connection..._

_Do it!_

Before anyone could blink, the dagger pierced through Silver's aura as it sliced into the crystal. There was no damage to the star, but the static ceased to emanate. She did it, she had dislodged the energy between the two beings! Grinning at her accomplishment, Moly twisted the dagger up, a facet of the star managing to break off into the coyote's body. She struggled to pry it out as it obviously wouldn't budge without a second force. Static began to crawl up her arms, her weapon starting to vanish as the star shocked her body with static electricity.

" _AARGH_! Damn it all! Just... Come... OUT!" She's shouted as her dagger disappeared at her command, opting to try and pry it out with her own hands.

Moly felt her sense of reality tear away from her sense of awareness. The world she was just in was now a blank sky full of tiny sparks. Her body was numb and unresponsive, her telepathy was blocked out, she couldn't see or hear anyone... Other than this weird voice.

**\-------------------------------------------------------**

_"Hello there, my child."_

She managed to control her body once more, whipping herself around to see where she was and whoever was speaking to her.

_"Now now, do not be so_ _h̶o͡st̷i̶le͞_ _. I would like to welcome you."_

Moly looked around, gritting her teeth in anger as she tried and failed to read her weapons. She gasped as static pricked her limbs, forcing her to remain still. Eyes widened, she stared as a static-filled being appeared before her eyes. They looked... They...

_"M-momma...?"_

**\-------------------------------------------------------** _  
_

Silver cried out as Enigma forced him and Moly back, sliding on the now slightly humming black and white ground. It felt like multiple shocks of static, a droning white noise that occupied his mind. He couldn't care less about himself however, he cared more for his unresponsive friend who lay still beside him.

"Moly? Moly?! Can you hear me?! MOLY!" Panicking, he shook her body. There was no response, only slow raspy breaths. Something was wrong. Very _very_ wrong.

"Pity that she cannot stop her deterioration."

_That voice..._

Silver stood, rage boiling inside of him as he turned to face Enigma. Their eyes still soulless and empty, their voice hollow.

"She cannot be saved." The coyote spoke, black sludge oozing from the partially dug out Astrum. "Just like Blaze, you have failed in saving her. Just like Blaze, she will leave you alone. Just like Blaze, you will meet an untimely end."

The mention of Blaze, the memories, the fact that his horrible past was starting to repeat itself sent him over the edge.

"You... You aren't allowed to say her name... You..." Cyan intensified to a blinding light, multiple monochrome trees and boulders lifted as the hedgehog began to levitate. " _YOU MONSTER_!"

**\-------------------------------------------------------**

_"My beautiful Moly-pollie. It is so_ _won͏de͠rfu̕l͏ ͞_ _to see you again."_

Tears filled the fox's eyes, static letting her have free will once more as she lunged towards her mother. The warmth of her mother's arms wrapped tightly around her was so familiar, the feeling of home she had lost long ago was resurfacing as she cried into her mother's chest.

_"Now now little one, do not cry. You have a big_ _d̢ȩc͏i̡si̧on_ _to make."_

"Mama... I... How are you... Am I dead?"

Moly wept as her mother's tender hand wiped away her tears. She heard her mother's soft laugh behind that gentle expression.

_"Moly, my dear child, you are far from_ _d̶eath͡_ _. In fact, you are being given a_ _g͝if͏t._ _"_

The fox watched in speechless morbid curiosity as her mother held her hands out and, within her static palms, and the object began to materialize.

 _"My beautiful child, what if I told you,"_ Her mother's smile grew slightly, _"that you could go back and_ _st̡op̨_ _the Council?"_

**\-------------------------------------------------------** _  
_

"Your anger amuses us, silver boy. Dance a dance with death!" Enigma laughed as their soulless eyes stayed locked on him.

"SHUT UP AND JUST..." Silver shouted, lifting any and everything he could to attack the puppet.

**\-------------------------------------------------------**

"I can't... Argentum, he... I can't leave him."

_"You would_ _cho͘o͠s̷e_ _a friend over your mother?"_

"N-no mother, of course not! But... I cannot erase everything we have done. The Astrum, my friendship with Argentum, the fate of our world..."

 _"...I see."_ Her mother came closer to Moly, staring into her eyes. _"My baby girl, what if you could have_ _both_ _?"_

"What?"

 _"You can save your_ _fut̶u͘re͘_ _, bring father and I back, and stay with your friend..."_ Her mother's icy blue eyes began to fizzle into static as she kept her gaze into Moly. _"All you need to do..."_

**\-------------------------------------------------------** _  
_

"JUST!" Silver lifted multiple rocks as he shouted, " _DIE_!"

**\-------------------------------------------------------**

_"Is_ _b̶eçom̷e͘ th̷e v͝es͘s͡el͟."_

**\-------------------------------------------------------** _  
_

Enigma dodged the rocks, laughing and readying a static spear as they jumped back. Before they could attack, they stopped as their body numbed.

"W-wha... Why can't I- AUGH!" The coyote questioned before being thrown to the staticized earth.

Panting and raising more debris, Silver jumped to the ground in front of Enigma. His eyes were a dark shade of gold, his aura almost blinding to the eye, his sense of morality was gone. He truly was pushed over his breaking point.

"Finally... Now I can put an end to you!" He shouted, lifting his objects high above Enigma who was shaking on their hands and knees.

_Stop._

Silver's eyes widened at that recognizable voice in his head. Forcing away the weaponized debris in his hands, he turned to Moly who was now standing. Tears filled his eyes from relief that she was still alive. As he ran to her side, he tightly wrapped his arms around her.

"Moly! You're alive! Oh gosh, I can't believe I, I... Are you ok? Are you hurt? Are you... Moly?"

The boy's eyes widened as his friend's once vibrant amethyst orbs were now dull and lifeless. His hands trembled, but he could only hug her tighter. Was she...? No, she couldn't be...

"Please no, Moly, NO! I won't! I refuse to let you...!"

She shoved him off of her, walking past him without a second glance as she forced Enigma up with her limited kinesis.

"Moly, _STOP IT_!" Silver shouted as he used his psychokinesis to immobilize her.

With a blink of her cold eyes, static surged through her body and traversed into Silvers. He cried out in pained agony as his concentration shattered, his body heavy and numb once more.

Moly held Enigma in a tight chokehold, readying her once crystalized but now pure black dagger as she shoved it hard and deep into the coyote's sternum. Static electrified the whole area, black sludge poured from their now gaping hole in their chest, their dull eyes were back to that vibrant lively green as before as Moly tossed their weakened choking body aside.

Without even flinching, the Astrum embedded itself into her chest, right over her beating heart. She shouted as static electricity surrounded her being as she struggled to maintain consciousness.

_Silver, You need to go. Take Enigma, a-and go!_

Silver could only stare at what his friend was becoming. Instead of staying by his side as she promised, she was now... The enemy. A puppet being controlled by that dreaded crystal.

"Moly... Please... Please don't leave me..." His voice cracked as he stood, ignoring the cracking reality around him.

 _I'll save the world, Silver._ She shot a powerful surge of electrical energy behind him, creating a Riff. _Please, go._

The hedgehog shook his head, adamant as he tried to grab her hand. "I'm not leaving you! Y-you promised me that you... You would..." He choked on his cries, tears dropping to the ground.

_You're so naive. I've always liked that about you._

Moly gave him a final sad smile.

_This won't be the last time we meet. Just... Just get yourselves to safety._

With that, static shocked the earth as the ground began to rip away. Reality as he knew it was beginning to crumble. Hesitantly, Silver took a few steps back as he cried. He tightly shut his eyes as he turned from her. He already failed Blaze's request to seal her away... He wasn't going to make that mistake with Moly. The least he could do was... See her request through.

"What...?"

Enigma stammered, their body limp and weak from being numb.

"Hang on." Silver demanded as he carefully picked up the coyote, carrying them on his back.

Silver took a final glance at Moly who stared back at him. Her eyes were listless, dulled over like a lifeless puppet. He stifled a sob as he jumped through the portal.

_Argentum... Forgive me..._


	12. Icarus

The Rift began to fizzle to a mere speck of nothingness as the two teens tumbled out onto the ground, Enigma falling off of Silver's back as their bodies skid across the forest. Ignoring the pain in his body, Silver quickly stood up and tried to pry open the portal that had now shut, but it was no use.

"Crap!! Moly..." He cried out, his tears stopping as he wiped his eyes.

_This won't be the last time we meet._

"No, it won't be. I'll save you. I have to." Silver clenched his fists. He stared at the empty space in front of him. He had to keep his hope alive, not just for his future, but for his friend now. She saved his life, now he has to fully repay her.

"Chaooo.."

He looked towards Moly's knapsack that still lay in the hollowed trunk as he heard the noises of the chaos. One by one, they squirmed from the bag and giggled with cheer to see Silver.

"Chao Chao!!" The four child-like creatures called out as they all piled onto Silver's head and shoulders.

"Hey, guys." The young hedgehog smiled slightly, petting the four critters as they nuzzled against him. The little Chao noticed his crestfallen mood, going quiet themselves, taking notice that Moly, their guardian, wasn't with him.

His smile fell as he looked back out to the empty space.

 _But what do I do now...? Without Moly to help me, I'm right back to square one._ The gray hedgehog looked down before shaking his head and giving a determined look at the sky. _No! I made it this long by myself before I even knew her. I just need to work alone again._ _Do what I've been doing and seal away that... thing._

His attention was brought back from his thoughts as he heard the sound of rustling grass behind himself.

Recalling just who exactly was with him now, Silver turned to face the coyote with bright teal palms, ready to immobilize the older teen at any second. The Chao whined in fear at the stranger, hiding themselves into Silver's top quills and his fluffy chest fur that barely brushed past his shoulders.

Despite what the two of them just saw back in that time, there were no visible markings of the dagger in the teen's chest. No sign that they were stabbed, no gaping oozing black sludgy hole in their very core, no indent of the Astrum... but it was obvious that they could still feel the pain.

Enigma struggled, pushing themself upon their palms and sitting on their knees. Their breathing was labored as they placed their hands on their chests. The dead grass around them was beginning to turn a deep emerald as the once dried out blades perked back to life.

"...!?" Realizing their enemy was in front of them, the coyote's eyes widened and began to faintly glow bright green as thorny vines shot out from the ground around Silver, attempting to wrap around his legs.

He jumped back, immobilizing the vines with his kinesis as he shot a projectile at Enigma. He stared in shock as the coyote surrounded themself in a thick brush of vines, disintegrating the attack. Before either of them could counter and almost as quickly as the fight started, it was over. The vines returned to the ground as the glow from the older teen's eyes faded.

Cyan filled Silver's being as he raised his palms, ready to freeze his target if they dare make a move.

"R-relax! As much as I'd love to kick your puny butt, I won't." Enigma murmured as they caught themself from falling forward with their free hand, eyes tightly shut as they faced the ground. "I-I can't move. This stupid body..." They coughed harshly, swallowing back the urge to vomit. "E-everything hurts."

Silver refused to let his guard down, his teal aura still swirling around his hands as he silently watched his for. His ears flattened slightly at the sound of Enigma's coughs and pained groans.

_Must be some kind of temporal sickness... Poor kid._

He cringed at the memory he had of time travel sickness, having been through it the first few times he had jumped through timelines. It wasn't fun, mainly an onslaught of dizziness, fatigue, and disorientation on his part. Your whole insides felt like they were being spun in a washer on its highest setting. The only good thing was it didn't last long, often wearing off after a few minutes to an hour.

He observed the teen's body language as they had a hard time keeping themselves still. For a second, he felt bad for them. He debated on helping them, wondering if it were the right thing to do given all the wrong they've done. Corrupting his future into one full of uncertainty and anxiety, destroying the peace he had worked so hard to attain... making Moly into a puppet of that dreaded item.

Damn them.

There was a lot Silver could say and a lot he could do, but he couldn't bring himself to do any of it, not when his foe was currently down and unable to fight. His stupid kind heart was keeping him from doing anything reckless; the teal energy began to dissipate as he watched the vines in his grasp and around the coyote shrink back into the earth.

 _An agrokinetic...?_ He thought, seeing the green aura behind to fade from the kid's palms as they clutched and released the earth. _First Moly with her hydrokinesis, now Enigma? There must be more elementals than I had originally thought..._

He stood quite a distance away from his foe, just waiting for a wrong move. Instead of a predicted hostile act, he raised a brow as the coyote tightly clutched their chest and covered their mouth, their body shaking like a leaf.

Without saying anything or even looking up, Enigma retched into their hand, coughing and sputtering as black static-filled sludge burst from between the cracks of their fingers. It was the same black noise-filled substance that had once been bleeding from their chest.

Startled by the sudden vomiting, Silver took another step back. What the actual _hell_ was he supposed to think of this? What was he supposed to do? What if that was some type of toxic fluid? Did he help them? Was he supposed to?

The sludge poured from their mouth and stained the forest floor as they choked for air. That same dreaded mind-numbing static flooded Enigma's mind. Something felt wrong as if their body was trying to turn itself inside out as if there was something toxic in them. It all hurt beyond what they could imagine. Was this their punishment for disobeying Noise? Or was this simply a shock to the body after having been stabbed by that violet vixen?

As they struggled to breathe, the sludge began to strangely dissipate into pure static. The white noise beginning to fade as the ground beneath them, as well as their once vomit-stained hands, began to clear almost as if nothing just happened. That wasn't even the strangest thing, the oddest part was a single broken piece of the once whole Merkaba that faintly glow a softened white hue beneath the fading sludge. Compared to the whole artifact, this single straightened point didn't radiate a control-hungry aura. Rather, it appeared as just a simple piece of a healing crystal.

"Here."

Enigma weakly looked up, seeing Silver kneeling in front of them and holding out a water bottle. They dismissed Silver's hand with a scoff.

"I don't need it."

"Hey! I'm trying to be nice here!" Silver defensively spoke up, grabbing their hand and forcing them to take the water. "Think of it as a truce. Now shut up and drink it."

After glaring at each other, the older teen turned their head away as they took a drink. It felt cool and refreshing, strangely pure and quaint. It felt nice to ingest something other than pure static energy for a change.

"Thanks."  
"Sure. Are you ok?"  
"I'm fine."  
"Any pain?"  
"It'll go away."

Awkward silence filled in the rest of the conversation as the two sat there. One wary and unsure of how to act, the other trying to understand where they were. Clearing his throat to break the quiet, Silver glanced at the broken segment of the star in front of Enigma.

"So... What was that about?" the hedgehog asked, watching the older teen's expression.

The question made the coyote's ears turn back as they picked up the crystal. To be honest, they had no idea why they felt so sick, let alone why they puked up a piece of the Astrum. They didn't even know that the object could be broken in the first place. This whole string of recent events was beyond perplexing.

"I dunno." They replied, eyeing the soft white glow of the clear quartz. "I'm more concerned about why it was in me."

"It _was_ embedded in your chest." Silver mentioned, idly sitting next to Enigma.

"I know that." The coyote snapped with a snarky attitude before looking back down at the crystal shard. They felt so betrayed by Noise, betrayed by their power... Alone in their own body.

They glanced at the four tiny beings attached to Silver, questionably eyeing them. In response, the four Chao whimpered and hid deeper around Silver.

"What're those things?"

At the question, Silver looked to his shoulders before looking at the other two chaos on his head. He paused on a response as the Chao glanced at him.

_Do I tell them? Moly won't be mad right? I mean, I don't think they even know what they are, so it should be fine, right?_

"These are called Chao." He replied, watching as Topaz slowly fluttered from behind his back and set itself into his arms. "They're kinda like pets but have the intelligence of a young mobian toddler."

Never in their whole life have they heard about these 'Chao'. All they knew existed was the Astrum, Onyx Island, different locations on Mobius, Noise, Silver and that weird Stranger. It was all odd to them. They took a look at the yellow Chao in the hedgehog's hand and gave a faint grin as the creature cooed warmly.

Taking a slow look around the forest (the parts that weren't affected by the comet's impact), their eyes widened. This place was green and rich with life. Nothing was in grayscale, there was actual honest to Chaos color! They forgot just how long it has been since they saw color, it was breathtaking.

Speechless, the coyote stood up with little pain than before and walked to one of the trees. They placed their hand on the trunk, connecting themself with the living object. There was life energy pulsing through every inch of this tree, from their un-gloved index finger and thumb down to their study boots. This was... mystical. Like something out of a fairytale, like something he'd been told in the schools. Astounding.

A distant sound of thunder began to slowly fade in from the sky, evident of the stormy climate on Sanpelagroso. Weighing their options, Silver retrieved Moly's backpack and set the Chao inside to keep them dry.

"We should find someplace to camp out. It's gonna rain any second." He said as he turned his attention back to Enigma, tilting his head as he watched the older teen caress the tree trunk. "If you're done having a moment with the tree, that is."

Ignoring the comment, the coyote retracted their hand and held it to their chest. Such a warm and nurturing energy radiating from such a basic specimen of nature, so casual and barely noticed by the common folk.

Annoyed at the lack of response Silver waved his hand in their face. "Hey, Mobius to mangy, are you listening?"

"More than you'll ever know." They responded as they turned from Silver, walking aimlessly away from him.

Beyond confused by the coyote's reply, the hedgehog ran to catch up to them.

*** *** *****

Silver lay awake in the small space under a thick brush of vines, listening to the rain as he set his hands behind his head. His mind was racing with memories of how strange these past few weeks were: he met a new face, got whiplash from recovered trauma, watched his new friend get turned into some kind of monster, and now... here he was on an abandoned island paired up with some sort of lone wolf-- er, coyote. The teen sat up with a heavy sigh, pulling his knees up to his chest as he closed his eyes.   
Everything was so confusing, he wasn't sure whether to be full of hope and determination or to just give in and admit defeat. He'd always put up a strong stoic front around his displays of bull-headed selflessness, but this time... he strangely felt empty. As if something was missing. He never felt this strong of a sense of detachment since he lost Blaze all that long ago. It made him want to weep for his best friend. Lost one, and now another.

Tears began to well up, blurring his vision as he held his hands open in front of himself. The gentle pulsing teal light was softly lighting up the darkened brush. He stared into the symbols embedded into his palms as if they'd give him any trace of an answer to his confusion.

 _Why do I feel this way...? I told myself that I need to stay hopeful, for my future... for Moly, and yet... I..._ Tears dropped into his hands as he hid his face into them. _I can't help but feel sad. I don't like it... why can't I stay positive now? She... I..._

"Hey. Are you ok?"

Silver looked up from his hands to see the coyote sitting in front of him. Quickly, he wiped his eyes as to try and not show his emotions. "I'm fine."

The older teen gave a huff as they sat next to the younger one. "You're a terrible liar."

"And you should be asleep."  
"I can say the same for you."  
"Shut up mangy."  
"Ditto, fern-head."

There it was again, the dreaded silence. The heavyweight of living pulling at the young teen's mind as the memories of Blaze and Moly began to blur once more. He wrapped his arms tighter around his knees as he steadily looked down at the semi-dry dirt.

"Why do you even care?" He spoke up, breaking the silence. His eyes looked over at the four Chao that were snuggled up together in a warm little pile. "Not even a day ago, you wanted to see me dead."

"Heh, yeah I guess so." The older kid gave a half-hearted laugh before sighing.

To that, Silver rolled his eyes before staring blankly at the rain that fell beyond the entrance of the brush. More uncomfortable silence.

"Why are you awake?"  
"Couldn't sleep."  
"Shocker. You'd figure with the gloominess outside it would do wonders for you."

Enigma shrugged off the remark and took a good look at the younger teen next to them. He seemed downcast, way different from the headstrong side he usually displayed in battle. No, this kid was different from before.

"You're one to talk about gloominess, Silver boy."

Silver's ears lay flat against his skull as he shut his eyes. He won't lie, he was gloomy and... a little angry? He rarely felt angry, but he felt something akin to anger. Loathing? Pity? Self-deprecation?

"I can't believe her..." He spoke without thinking, unaware as he his face in his arms. "She promises me that she'll never leave my side no matter what happens and... and now she's..."

The coyote turned their ears towards Silver as they leaned against the thick backing of the vines. They seldom cared for the worries of others, but seeing as this kid was nice enough to help them after their weird sick fit, it was only fair to lend a listening ear.

"Who? Violet? Yeah, she's not here. Did you two have a disagreement on power or something?"

Silver clenched his fists as he tries to control the hurt in his chest. "No." He stated firmly.

"I mean, she favors the bow and... blades," they cringed at the memory of the sharpened weapon as their hand instinctively went to their chest, "so I wouldn't blame you if you chose telekinesis over physicality."

"It's not like that." Silver gritted his teeth as the symbols on his hands began to glow intensely. "She... I..."

Fearing he would wake the Chao, Silver walked out of the dry sanctuary and into the rain. They stared at the surrounding trees as bittersweet memories of his first encounter with the fox began to fill his head. Like a broken record, it was on repeat and skipping scene after scene.

"Ohhh, did you abandon her?" Enigma asked, following Silver with their arms crossed.

" _I_ didn't abandon her, _she_ abandoned me!!"

Silver turned to face Enigma as he shouted, tears began to fall as his aura burst to intense luminosity as he levitated. The invisible telekinetic arms reached out, lifting the large tree behind himself and raising it above his head.

Surprised, Enigma's emerald aura faded in around themself as they struggled to take control of the large arbor.

"Calm down, kid! It was just a question!"  
"You don't get to ask those questions after what you've done!!"

Cyan faded to viridian as Enigma set the tree back down into the earth. They followed after Silver who was now flying away from them. Summoning vines from the ground, the coyote directed them to wrap around Silver's ankles.

"I said calm down!"

The gray hedgehog felt his inertia come to a stop, only fueling his frustration at the coyote. His aura began to brighten, the symbols on his hands rapidly pulsating with chaos energy.

"Calm down. That's how I'm always supposed to handle things, right? Calmly. Justified. Not with any sort of violence..."

Uncertain of Silver's motives, they controlled more vines that raised to the younger boy's waist. The hedgehog's psychical energy shredded the vines, breaking Enigma's natural connection to them.

"But it's because of _you_ ," Silver growled in anger as tears streamed down his muzzle. He shoved his hands out, immobilizing the coyote to the point where they couldn't breathe, "that I've lost _ANOTHER_ friend!!" Lifting the coyote high above the tops of the trees, Silver screamed as he forced the coyote down towards the muddied earth below. He watched as the tree branches cracked and broke under the force of the older teen's body, settling as a loud impact was heard.

Enigma groaned as they lay on their back in the mud, weakly opening their eyes to see Silver above them. They forced themselves onto their hands as they panted heavily.

"I could end you now, you know that? This is a joke! You... You've taken _EVERYTHING_ from my world!" Silver picked up the coyote, grabbing them by their shirt and shoving them into the trunk of a tree. "You made me chase you all over the place! You made me relive those _TRAUMATIZING_ memories!" He tightly gripped the coyote's throat. "Why don't _YOU_ see how it feels to lose _EVERYTHING_?!" A bright white orb of pure psychic energy began to materialize into the younger one's hand, aiming straight at their foe's chest. "Any last words before I take all of it away from you?!"

Enigma opened their eyes as they struggled to breathe. They looked at Silver's intense golden eyes before they choked out, "I... I am not your enemy."

_"Silver, I am not your enemy."_

The hedgehog's eyes widened, his expression softened as the orb of energy began to fade into nothingness, the bright neon cyan was now fading from such brightness until it dissipated completely. He quickly released Enigma from his grip as he stepped away.

The coyote gasped for air, falling to their hands and knees as they coughed and wheezed. They weren't angry at Silver as they should be, rather, they... understood where he was coming from. They _did_ deserve it after betraying their world, taking things away from this young kid, turning him into... _This_. They were no different than the bullies that would taunt and beat them back when he was younger.

Silver collapsed to his knees, face in his hands as he wailed, finally giving in to his overwhelming emotions upon hearing that phrase repeat in Moly's voice.

"I'm sorry, kid... I..." Enigma stuttered, still trying to breathe normally as they sat up and looked at Silver with worry.

There was no response. The only sound was a resounding echo of soft thunder in the distance and the rain that drenched the two boys. That silence that was once heavy and awkward was now lifted and allowed the two to see each other's raw emotions... as well as just how deeply this affected both of them.

There has to be a way to fix this, a way to mend such a torn up connection between the two teens. If there was a way, they would need to find it and fast.


	13. Phantasm

"When will it end?! It feels like no matter how much we keep trying, no matter how many times we beat these demons, we're still always back to square one!" The young hog slammed his fists to the broken concrete of the building the two young teens stood on.  
  
"Calm down, Silver."  
"Then tell me what we can do put an end to this chaos permanently!"  
  
Blaze shut her eyes as she calmly turned away from her frustrated friend. The princess was the most level-headed of the duo, her actions being thought through well enough before any action was taken. Prim and proper, the pyrokinetic cat was delicate but strong enough to defend herself if she or her partner were to ever be separated.  
  
"Resolutions take time." She spoke, her voice calm as she knelt next to her friend. Her amber eyes flickering with intensity as she stared down at the pools of lava that flooded Crisis City.  
  
"How much time, Blaze?" Silver looked to his friend before staring up at the dark and ashy sky. "Ever since we were kids, our world has been like this. Nothing but fighting pointlessly against these... cursed flames of disaster."  
  
Spotting a falling piece of concrete from another building, he held a hand out to stop it. As the debris outlined in teal, another thought crossed his mind that made his ears flatten slightly. With a silent heavy sigh, he dropped the chunk of concrete into the lava.  
  
"Are we just that powerless to do anything about it?"  
  
"...You're so naive." Was the only response he heard from his friend. Without changing her gaze from the dancing embers below her, she continued, "what I can answer for, is we have survived our lives the same as everyone else: fighting and putting out these flames."  
  
"Until most of them succumbed to the monotony of it and just... Gave up."  
"That is what makes us different. The fact that we still continue trying to put out Iblis no matter how much He fights back, it shows our perseverance."  
  
The hedgehog put his hands together, twiddling his thumbs in thought as he dusted some ash from his knees. Why did these thoughts have to haunt him in his dreams too... just... why. Didn't he suffer enough when he was awake? All he wanted was to sleep and... forget about everything going on. Yet it seemed like even that was impossible. Guilt and shame forming a pit in his stomach as he struggled with the choice of whether or not to tell Blaze.  
Blaze, that close friend whom he held so dear in a different time, now was visiting him in his dreams. But she was real, she existed! She isn't part of his dream though, she's a real princess, isn't she? Or maybe they're communicating in a separate dimension?  
  
Shaking his head slightly to try and quell the further confusion, Silver began, "Blaze?"  
"Hm?"  
  
"If... we're unable to work together anymore, for whatever reason..." He began before his voice trailed off. It took him a moment to find the words, hoping his friend couldn't see the tears glistening in the edges of his eyes. "What if one day, we lose the will to fight? Or what if... What if one of us has to go away forever? What if one of us dies or-"  
  
"Those are exactly what they're called, 'what ifs'. They mark lines in the sand that have yet to be determined."  
  
Ohhh she was most _definitely_ real. This was certainly Blaze-- being cryptic and confusing him even further with her answers. Silver looked down at the swirling lava as he idly kicked his feet over the edge, stray broken pebbles and dust being kicked off into the lava.  
  
The cat snapped her fingers, two tiny embers dancing around her fingers as she made them elegantly twirl around each other. Surprised by the sharp crack in the tense air, the hedgehog looked over at his friend.  
  
"The white fires of hope and blue flames of fate cannot become one, but they can share a dance of passion." She spoke as if repeating a line from her heart. "When fate is obscured in the sea of darkness when fate has lost her spark to light, the luminous fires of hope light the way to her. The two meet and they dance once more, for we cannot keep the flames of hope from the hungry soul of fate." Her palm outstretched, the flames dancing above into obscurity as she turned her gaze back to the sky.   
  
Silver could only feel his stomach knot up as his heart started to feel heavy. This story, that little tale, seemed to really pull at him. He didn't know what it was about it... no, he knew what it was. He knew exactly why it hurt him so much-- because _he_ was the flames of hope, and _Blaze_ was the flames of fate. Two souls destined to meet and yet they were ripped away by a time change. One shrouded and having to be found by the other. Except, instead of him saving the day and finding his friend, it was becoming more and more obvious that he was the one that needed saving.  
  
Blaze's pointed ears turned slightly as she heard sniffling followed by raspy inhales. Was Silver... crying? This was... A first. The kid was usually a brick wall, not allowing himself to show any emotion other than positivity. She won't lie, the princess wondered how long he could've kept such a facade up.  
  
One look at the younger kid's posture said it all- face buried in his hands, his five usually perky quills were bent back as well as his ears.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Blaze." He apologized, his voice shaky and broken as tears fell. "I just feel so unsure... or afraid? I feel really bad. Bad as in, 'I feel like what I'm doing will never be enough' bad." He clenched his fists, the bright teal pulsating in his hands as he struggled to stay composed.  
  
Blaze hesitated in response, only giving him her full unabided attention. Her curiosity turned to uncertainty as she stood up, her hands being placed properly behind her back. She closed her eyes as she tilts her head up to the gloomy sky.  
  
"You aren't speaking about Iblis, are you?"  
  
The heat that once engulfed his entire being began to cool significantly, the embers that once kissed his light gray fur were now grayscaled and felt like raindrops. The appearance- er, memory?- of a burning orange Crisis City began to blur ever so slightly into a slightly sepia-ed tone as if the vision was and old smudged roll of film. They were still in this place, this chaotic hell city, but it began to feel more and more as if they weren't truly there.  
  
"Blaze..." the hedgehog turned to his partner, tears gently falling past his muzzle, "what do you do when history starts to repeat itself?" He asked, awaiting a response as he stared at up at her.  
  
The cat's expression softened from one of uncertainty to a gentle understanding. She hesitated on a response, knowing her friend had more to say. Her amber eyes gently fell to his glistening golden ones, giving him her attention.  
  
Silver clenched his fists once more, placing them on his thighs as he stared at the slowly moving 'lava' below. "Why am I always destined to do this to ones I care for? Rather... why does it always have to happen to _me_?" He tightly shut his eyes, memories flashing past his mind's eye faster than he could even understand them. Memories of a blue hedgehog, one of a black and red striped one, the seven chaos emeralds spinning around the three of them and granting them unlimited power... All of it was so much. Memories of Blaze's death, memories of the two as kids growing up together, remembering the time when a darkened shadowy being had manipulated him into going against a friend... He was always messing up, wasn't he?  
"I'm so easily manipulated, being told a past friend was an enemy, or either having to," he turned his head to Blaze, "seal my closest one away to another dimension."  
  
Blaze's face held no emotion, only listening to her friend's woes. Silver was, well, a mess to say the least. His expression ranging from hurt to fear to depression to pity. He was no longer crying from the feeling of loss, rather the feeling of intense guilt that occupied his heart.  
  
"I don't want to lose _another_ friend, Blaze! I lost you and I... I didn't even remember you afterwards! W-what if the same thing happens?" He held his hands to his ears, a futile attempt to silence his own screaming flashbacks of that timeline. "I don't know what's wrong with me and I hate it! I want to save her-- save _you_! I want to remember more but I can't and... I..." His voice became lost once more in his own raspy sobs.  
  
"You're worried about losing memories of those you hold dear."  
  
How could she put such complex emotions into words so easily? He was always a wreck over emotions and how to process them, but Blaze always had the answers. She always did.  
  
The cat reclaimed her seat next to Silver, a tad closer than before. Despite the chilling air around him, Blaze's fur felt so warm and inviting. She lovingly took his shaky palms from his head and kept her arms out, almost as if she was offering him consolation, to which he accepted.   
Collapsing from the sheer weight of guilt, anxiety, and apprehension, the hedgehog threw himself into his friend's warm embrace. He hid his muzzle into her warm lilac fur, letting his deep-seated emotions out as she comfortingly stroked his back quills down. This was the first time they had embraced in all their years of knowing each other, and it was truly... Something special.  
  
 _I don't care if this is a dream..._  
  
"I don't have the answers, Silver," The princess finally spoke, prompting the weeping boy to quiet down. "But, you should not have this much guilt over a past that never existed."  
  
Silver pulled away slightly, staring into her amber eyes as he shook his head fervently, "No! It DID exist, Blaze! You were there! I remembered what happened, how I couldn't do the one thing you asked of me, how I-"  
  
He silenced as Blaze placed a finger to his mouth before wiping some stray tears from his face.  
  
"Time travel is a scary thing. It can erase times, memories, everything just by one single action." She gave him a comforting grin akin to that of an older sister, "even if you never remembered me, even if you couldn't fulfill my request," Blaze placed her warm palm against Silver's furry chest, feeling his rapid heartbeat begin to slow to a steady rhythm, "I will never leave your side."  
  
Silver could only stare in bewilderment at how Blaze knew any of those promises seeing as she wasn't around him or Moly before. How did she know those words?... Something in the back of his head told him to not dwell on it. It didn't matter. All that mattered was him and Blaze, where they are right now and the moment they desperately needed.  
  
"Keep hope alive, Silver," Blaze spoke again, pressing her forehead against Silver's, making the hedgehog slightly blush. "So long as you live, hope lives. If you hope and act for a certain outcome, if you hope to save her without a deadly turmoil, then make it happen."  
  
Before he could say another word, Blaze placed her lips against his cheek. The warmth of her kiss fueled his whole body with comfort, stripping away any sense of fear. He felt... at peace. Even though he didn't have any idea why or how he began to feel... Okay. Hopeful, even. Rejuvenated was the word, right?  
  
Blaze wiped his stray tears as they embraced for a few more moments.  
As closure began to finally settle in his chest, he smiled and nodded at Blaze. A smile full of determination evident in his rekindled spirit as the two of them stood up.  
  
"I will... I promise you, I'll make it happen, Blaze."  
"I know you will."  
  
He watched as Blaze began to dissipate again, however it was much more of a relaxing sight. The two smiling at one another as glowing gold and orange embers lifting her very being away. The sight was quite sad, but it wasn't a somber sight. Rather, one of closure. Something he needed. Nothing but awareness creeping back into his consciousness slowly as reality dawned on him.  
  
 _I have to stay strong-- **hopeful** for my future, for the world, for Moly._  
  
Dreamily, he opened his golden eyes...


	14. Clepsydra

The morning was eerily calm, less than uneasy but not inherently peaceful. It was quite odd, but then again, the whole future was odd at this point.

The leaves crunched under the teen's boots as they tread the land.

"You can let me go at any time, fern-head," Enigma spoke up, holding their wrists (which were bound together by bright cyan energy) up as they walked alongside Silver.

"Shut up. Keep walking." The younger boy said sternly, glaring at the taller kid.

"Man, if you think I'm gonna attack you-"  
"I do."  
"...Look, I'm not gonna hurt you or anything."

Silver turned his attention back to the path ahead of them.

They were off of Sanpelagroso and now making their way back to the Cove. It was the only place that Silver knew they'd be safe at, and the only place where there was no vegetation, which meant Enigma would be powerless. He hoped so at least.

He had to find some way of contacting Moly or keep an extra eye out for comets; maybe try telepathically speaking to her? Something- _ANYTHING_ to get into contact with her.

As they walked through Mystic Jungle, the unusual chill of cold air brushed the two teens fur, making them shiver.

Looking to the sky, Silver watched as clouds began to roll in. The weather was getting out of hand; from the heavy rain back on the island to the choppy waves of the sea on their sail back to land, and now this chill in the air made the atmosphere of uncertainty all that heavier. Compared to when Enigma had control of the Astrum, it was dangerous but the weather was always sunny. Always consistent and easy to predict, just like the wielder.  
Silver knew what to expect when it came to Enigma, but with Moly... heck, he couldn't even make out the look on her face at times. She was shrouded in mystery, even after knowing her for a while. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was afraid of what she could do under the influence of this corrupt-

"Heads up, it's gonna rain," Enigma spoke up, deeply inhaling before sighing pleasantly.

Silver simply gave them an odd look before observing the clouds above.

"Wait, wait, no... Snow?" The coyote's ears tilted as they looked at the dead grass ahead of them.

"Snow? No way, mangy. It's summer!"  
"Listen here, Silverfish! I probably know a lot more about nature than you do!" Enigma growled, stopping their walk and glaring daggers at the hedgehog.

"Oh? And what makes you say that, ya green goblin?" Silver snapped back, turning to face him.

The two teens scowled into each other's eyes, foreheads pressed together as the two grit their teeth.

"I can hear what the grass is saying to me!"  
"Oh really? Are they saying, 'help! A big nasty termite is standing on us!'"  
"No, they're saying, 'hey ya dumb maple-head, you should listen to the older more sensible guy!'"  
"Right, like I should listen to the same guy who almost killed me!"  
"Yeah, you should because I was able to get you to that point!"

The two's glares sharpened as their auras began to flare.

"Stupid metalhead!"  
"Mangy mutt!"  
"Irritating pest!"  
"Gullible dirt sack!"  
"I swear, I'll...!"  
"Don't make me...!"

" _Chao_..."

The two shot their heads to the sound and immediately, their auras faded and angry expressions softened. The four tiny Chao were out of the bag, hovering and holding one another.  
Cobalt had their face in their little hands with Scarlet hugging them, both sobbing. Jade was hugging Topaz in fear while they looked at Silver disapprovingly. The honey Chao placed their blobby hands on their hips, their expression becoming one of bitterness.

"Chao, Chao!" Topaz vocalized, fluttering to Silver as if it were scolding him. "Chao, cha-cha-Chao! 'Chao Chao Chao!', 'Chao Chao!' Chao chaaaaaaao!" After their little... outburst, they hovered back to their friends, comforting them.

The teens watched the childlike pets cower from them, both of their ears turning down at the guilt they felt. These little friends had heard them fighting. Not to mention, they've been trying to deal with their guardian being gone, which was a lot easier said than done. Can't forget the pleasant fact that they were the last four of their kind too. The teens couldn't ignore these poor members of their group, let alone let their anger get the best of them.

"Ah... Ugh..." Enigma failed to come up with a reply, not quite sure how to speak to these emotional little critters.

The teens looked at each other, both equally guilty. Swallowing his pride and with a heavy and strained sigh, Silver relaxed his fingers, freeing Enigma's hands as the cyan 'rope' vanished. He then carefully approached the Chao.

"You're right guys," Silver started, a gentle fatherly tone in his voice, "We shouldn't be fighting, we need to get back home and figure out a plan to get Moly back."

"Chaoooo..." Cobalt whimpered as it sniffled and looked up at Silver.

"Aw, c'mere buddy," The younger hedgehog softly murmured to the Chao, picking up the rich blue critter as he continued, "I'm really sorry we scared you. Fighting is scary and I should've been more attentive to you guys." He looked to all the Chao that hovered in front of him. "It won't happen again, okay?"

"Chao..." Topaz crossed their arms, glaring at Silver.

"Aw, c'mon Topaz! You know I'm not that kind of person! It really won't happen again, I swear it." Silver stated as he put his hand to his chest and held up his right palm.

"Chao..." The honey Chao turned away before turning back to the hedgehog. "Chao!" They chimed, smiling slightly as it fluttered into Silver's arms, followed by their siblings hugging him.

"Hahaha! Aw, guys!"

Was this what being left out felt like? This strange uncomfortable feeling of being set aside?

Awkwardly, Enigma rubbed their arm and idly kicked the decayed grass beneath them.

"Chao?"

Their ears perked up at the noise, seeing Jade, the shimmering emerald Chao, looking up at them. It smiled warmly, holding up a tiny daisy to them.

"You can pet them, they won't hurt you." Silver said, smiling as he set the other three down and watching Jade.

Glancing at Silver, then at Jade, they timidly placed their hand on the Chao's head. This action earned a happy chirp from the pet as it fluttered closer to them.

The coyote couldn't help but smile softly at the innocent creature. How can something so gentle exist in such a hostile world like this...?

*** *** *****

As Enigma predicted, it was definitely snowing. The temperature seemed to do a complete nosedive as well, going from a warm 74° to a chilling 50°. Luckily for the group, they had made it into the safety and shelter of Beryllium Cove.

Enigma was speechless when Silver and they came to this place. A perfectly hidden area away from piercing eyes that threatened their very being. A beautiful lush energy radiating from the crystals and bioluminescent life inside, the comfort of a den hidden way in the back. It was... more of a home than the coyote had ever known. Not to mention the fact that Silver was allowing them to stay in such a safeguarded place was beyond kind of him.

"Do you wanna get closer? It's freezing cold over there." Silver asked, sitting cross-legged in front of the campfire.

"No, I'm fine," Enigma replied, sitting near the entrance of the cove as they watched the snow flurries fall. They held their knees tightly, the bone-chilling gusts piercing their fur to the very core.

Silver sighed, shrugging, "suit yourself, planty."

Ignoring the remark and trying to keep from shivering, Enigma closed their eyes. So much has happened within a day. The promise of a change one second, the next they're in this hidden cave rooming with a rival and his pets. How could things go so... unrealistic so fast?  
They didn't want to make themselves a part of Silver's interest, knowing full well that they've done more harm than good this whole time. Yet, there was still that voice in their head, a voice that begged and craved for a sense of belonging. An identity not purged in the static hellfire of the corruption.

"Here, you're shivering." Silver stated as he wrapped one of his blankets around the lone canine.

Surprised by the random act of kindness, the coyote looked over at him. "What about you? Or them?"

Silver sat next to Enigma, giving a slight grin.

"The Chao are okay, they're all huddled together in Moly's knapsack near the fire."

_Moly... That's the black fox, right?_

"As for me," Silver resumed as he revealed his blanket and draped it over his shoulders, "I got my warmth here."

"...I don't understand." Enigma's voice was soft, a stark contrast to their cocky self from earlier.

"What?"  
"You. I don't understand you."

Silver tilted his head in confusion, his ears turning sideways to emphasize his dumbfounded expression.

"I... We're here because of me. I've dragged you around hell and back, made you see things, remember things- I almost killed you, for Chaos's sake!" Enigma turned to face the confused teen, their expression written in regret all over.

"Where's all this coming from, En?" Silver asked gently, giving them a proper nickname rather than an insult.

The older teen stared at him for a moment, taken by surprise at the genuine calm vibe from the peaceful nickname given to them, before turning their gaze to their palms. Weighing their options of holding in their guilt or admitting everything to this timeline's hero, they heavily sighed and stared downtrodden.

"I don't know. I've... it's just... that thing, that crystal," Enigma pulled out the softly glowing shard of crystal from their pocket, staring into it as they spoke, "It does something to you. It makes you question your own sense of self. The feeling of knowing who you are as a person, where you belong, the very right of free will being ripped away from you at a second's notice."

Silver listened intently. This was the first time he's heard this much about the Astrum, at least it was the first time in quite a while. He didn't know it had this type of effect on someone though.

They clenched the crystal in their palm, screwing their eyes shut as they grit their teeth. "It isn't fair... I wasn't fair, Noise wasn't fair. They told me- no, **promised** me- that I could reshape reality! Make this damn place somewhere that I can be..."

"Noise? Who's that?"

Realizing they had given away much more information than they wanted, Enigma opened their eyes. Their stomach twisting as they kept their eyes glued to their clenched hand. They wanted to tell this young hero everything to get revenge on that damned liar, that entity that just had to mess with their derealization. That damned _thing_ that inhabits the-

"Look, you don't need to rush to talk about what happened." Silver spoke up, his empathy for his struggling rival flooding his mind as he put a hand on their shoulder. "I'd love to hear more about what it's like with the Astrum, that way I know how to handle it, but... You look exhausted."

Enigma scoffed at the sign of weakness he pointed out, turning their head away.

"I say we get some rest and talk more about this in the morning. Maybe by then, it won't be so freezing and we can go out looking for any sign of-"  
"Why are you nice to me?"  
"Uh... Because you're human?"  
"I tried to kill you."  
"And I did the same to you."

Enigma didn't forget that they couldn't. That was the turning point in their opinion on Silver, changing from a hated enemy to a cold neutral. They both almost erased one another from existence, having weakened each other to the brink of death.

"I've let my emotions overwhelm me, En." Silver continued, looking out at the snow flurries as he kept talking, "I let the hurt of pain you caused me to control my actions. I've let my anger out on you for Moly's accident. That was wrong of me. I'm sorry."

Enigma looked at the hedgehog, their expression unreadable but focused as they listened.

"People get overwhelmed, they make mistakes." Silver sighed before giving his rival a warm smile, "But mistakes are just that: mistakes. You learn from em. They're lessons in something, I would guess at least. They don't mean you deserve any less of a chance than anyone else."

The canine drifted their gaze from Silver to the snow.

_He doesn't make any sense. Confusing, unsure, untrustworthy...? What do I make of this kid?_

"I say we put the past in the past. Where it belongs and needs to stay." Silver held his hand out to the older teen as he stood up. "I'm not your enemy, Enigma. If we stand any chance to fix things, we'll need to work together."

_Is this him saying I can start over? Make a new identity? Be a part of this reality without... being outcast? Be a part of taking down something so dangerous? Save someone- many people's lives?_

After a long moment of silence, Enigma nodded and took Silver's hand as they stood up.

"You're right. Let's do this, fern-head."  
"Heh, I knew you'd come around, Mangy."


	15. Forerunner

Hiking wasn't on either of the two's list of things that amused them. Certainly not a hobby they'd take up under any circumstance. However, hiking up the Mystic Mountains was necessary in this case, the two of them have seen a bright light fall overhead. They couldn't make heads or tails if it were a comet or some sort of asteroid, but the brightness pointed to the latter.

"This is ridiculous," Enigma muttered as they pushed themselves up onto a rock. "We could've just teleported up here, ya know."

Levitating himself down in front of his rival, Silver helped them stand atop the boulder.

"I'm not good at teleportation, and I'm pretty sure you aren't either." He gave them a half-hearted laugh as he watched them pant. "C'mon, mangy. We got a comet to see!" He said as he jumped up, securing his footing on a rock.

"Oh what a bunch of-- I've seen you teleport before!" The coyote called out, following behind the hedgehog.  
"Only short distances!"  
"Grrr... You're just liking the torture this is for me, aren't you?"  
"Maybe."

Muttering under their breath, the coyote climbed up to stable footing. The two looked at each other briefly before looking to the sky as a deep rumbling was heard. Another bright light, this time farther away.

"The heck was that?" Silver asked as he turned to face the older teen.

"Probably another meteor." They answered, thinking about it before groaning slightly, their thumb and forefinger pressed to their temple.

Silver's ears went back, slightly concerned, "You ok?" His attention being torn from the older teen to the presence of a shadow lurking beside them.

Enigma shook their head to clear their mind. "I'm fine. Just a--"

"Watch out!!"

Silver shouted as he lunged at Enigma, cyan energy swirling around the two as they levitated over the steep cliff edge. Surprised, the older one struggled against the energy before freezing up as they saw something... mortifying.

Some sort of feral mutated creature was in the spot right where the coyote previously stood. A grotesque mix of a wild hairless canine and marsupial, mostly hairless with a pronounced and deformed spinal ridge sharp pointed spikes of rock running down the vertebrae, fangs, and claws. The creature was on all fours, chipped ears turned back as it growled inhumanly. How they didn't even notice that being was a surprise; a growl like that could be heard from miles.

"Those are called Crystalbacks. They're common monsters in the mountains."

"There are friggin' _monsters_ out here??" Enigma asked with a shaky voice, their moss aura supporting their being as they stared in disbelief.

"Yeah. They started showing up after a certain _somebody_ began raining asteroids from the dang sky." The hedgehog gave the coyote a look, snarky yet bitter about the whole ordeal.

That sparked something inside the coyote. A reminder of the power, remembering Spatium, being and feeling weightless. They felt rage at Silver for taking the power away from them, but at the same time, they felt deeply powerless.  
Who exactly _were_ they without the Astrum?  
 _Who_ was Noise?  
That shady static mass of nothing that promised them ultimate and unwavering control over reality. _Who_ were they? Or better yet, _what_ was it?

The Crystalback let out a howl sharp enough to pierce one's ears. Looking at the creature as it howled, their eyes met-- bronze and magenta.  
Suddenly, everything went black to the coyote.

Covering his ears, Silver looked to the beast. He contemplated what to do, preferring not to harm the beasts of the Outlands yet not willing to become some sort of prey to this beast.

Moly and he came across these beasts before during their traveling, giving Silver a good chance to study them and how to battle the creatures. He noted that the Crystalbacks had an insatiable hunger for power in any shape or form, most likely since they inhabited the barren Outlands ravished by the energy-sucking comets. The pointed obelisks along their spines were capable of shooting out and impaling anything nearby. They certainly weren't to be taken lightly.

"Look, we don't need to fight it." Silver finally spoke up, backing up further into the air. "There's a comet, we need to find it and save Moly. We can't let these guys distract us, ok?"

Silver noticed the intense emerald glowing around Enigma's body. The older teen's eyes seemed to be a fuzzy, slightly gray hue that clashed with the coyote's rich earthy palette.

"Hey Mangy! I'm talking to--"  
"ραтнєтι¢ вєαѕт..."  
"Wha--?"

Enigma ignored Silver, levitating to the creature.

Almost as if it was waiting for this, the crystalback growled and turned to Enigma, bearing needle-like fangs. Sharp pointed chunks of rock shot from the beast's spine, both Enigma and Silver dodged the rocks.

The coyote threw their hands out, vines bursting from the earth beneath the creature and binding it tightly. They came face to face with the ferocious creature.

"Created from crystal, born from the stars," Enigma spoke as they came face to face with the beast. They took the shard of the Astrum and pointed the sharpest end to the creature, "I banish you from this place, ι яєנє¢т уσυя єχιѕтєи¢є!"

With the end placed ever so slightly to the beast's forehead, it let out an agonizing howl that began to distort heavily. The creature withheld by vines began to flicker with static, the very body of this demon fading in and out of existence. There was a bright half-a-second flash of white before the vines and being vanished altogether.

_Did... Did they just... Did they just_ **_erase_ ** _an animal from reality...?_

Aghast and speechless, Silver stayed frozen in place as he watched. His blood was icy-- confused as to what the actual hell happened to the Crystalback? More importantly, what the hell just happened with their partner? One minute they're talking about these beasts, now they were empty and soulless almost.

As the vines and glow began to fade, so did Enigma's intense aura. The gray static in their eyes began to flicker out, the obelisk chunk of crystal landing back into their open palm, fingers curling around it involuntarily. The older teen's body began to fall from the edge as they lost consciousness.

Thinking fast, Silver pushed his palm forward and caught the coyote in his psychic energy.

Trying to think about what to do, Silver drifted himself and his rival back to the stable ground of the cliff. He sat them against a dead tree, crossing his arms as he heavily sighed.

So much happened in five minutes and it was so mind-boggling.

"Nnhn..." The coyote stirred, consciousness coming back to them as they opened their bronze eyes. "W-wha...? Where's the beast?!" They shot up as they remembered the Crystalback that awaited them.

Silver carefully stopped them from getting up, keeping his hands steady on Enigma's shoulders.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Don't move too quickly," he spoke calmly. "Are you ok?"

Enigma gave him a questionable expression before scoffing, getting to their feet as they pushed the younger teen out of the way.

"Why are you acting so weird? I'm fine! Where's that damn monst--"

"The monster is gone?" Silver spoke with uncertainty. Now he was really confused, how can they not remember erasing something out of life? "You... You banished it?" Seeing the light shining through the coyote's fingers, he grabbed Enigma's wrist. "With this?"

Confused, Enigma opened their hand and saw the softly glowing shard of crystal. That seemed to jog their memory, blinking a few times.

"Oh... Right, that..." They hesitated on speaking, fully unaware of how that even happened. "I... I don't know what happened. We were talking, and then there was this... strange piercing sound in my head. Then... everything went black."

Silver listened, trying to understand this odd happening himself. Was this some sort of side effect from being in contact with the Astrum for some long? Or maybe it was from those static powers they had? Better question was what happened to those powers? Are they just gone now? If so, then why did Enigma's aura radiate such a hostile feeling a mere moment ago?

The coyote seemed just as lost in thought, their ungloved thumb lightly stroking a facet of the shard. They had a feeling they knew what exactly happened, but... no, that couldn't be it. They didn't have the Astrum with them anymore, which meant that Noise was no longer able to speak to them, right?

"Whatever it was, I'm glad you snapped out of it." Silver spoke up, breaking the silence with a small hopeful grin as he put his hand on the coyote's back.

The coyote scoffed at the hedgehog's naivety and blind hope. How can he be so positive with what he just saw them do? How could he even be glad that his rival was unharmed? It felt like they were the only one of the duo that thought about these things.

"Bah." Enigma shook their head, trying to gather their thoughts as they began to walk. "Let's get going. Hopefully that weird... issue... I had didn't affect us finding the meteor."

"Right, let's go." Silver nodded, following next to his rival as they approached another rocky wall.

After about a handful of minutes spent rock climbing, they were finally at one of the mountain peaks. There was an ominous energy radiating ahead of them, an energy that wasn't hostile or disorienting but... odd.

"Do you feel that?" Silver asked, turning to face the coyote.

Enigma nodded as they took out the brightly glowing and lowly humming chunk of crystal from their pocket. Something about this shard was interesting and also something that made them anxious. Especially since it possibly caused that weird blackout.

"It feels... strange, almost unstable."

Silver glanced back at them and nodded, "Yeah. It doesn't feel like the usual cosmic energy I'm used to."

Taking the knapsack off his shoulder, he handed it to the coyote.

"I'm gonna check it out, keep the Chao safe."

The four little heads poked out from the backpack, watching Silver before looking up to Enigma who was holding them.

"Be careful, that energy is pretty unpredictable."

Noting that, Silver took a breath and exhaled as he walked in the direction of the energy. Something about it was... Confusing? Tumult? Bedlam?

"Chao!!" Topaz called out as if shocked by a sense of familiarity. It fluttered from the bag and caught up to Silver, fluttering in front of him.

"Topaz! What are you--"

"Chao!! Chao!"

The honey-colored Chao grabbed Silver's hand as he tried to hold the pet. Urgently, the Chao pointed in the direction of the energy. Taking note of the urgent nature of the little critter, Silver's aura flared around him as he slightly levitated above the rocky terrain.

When they came to the location of the impact, they stopped in complete shock. There... wasn't an impact? No, that isn't right! Every comet has an impact point! What happened then? Why was there light but no impact? More importantly, why the hell did the energy and light lead them here?

Silver gave an exasperated groan, putting his hand to his forehead as he stared up at the sky.

"I feel like I'm going crazy. Am I just seeing things now or something?"

As the hedgehog turned away, the Chao observed the seemingly untouched earth. It landed down, sensing and following the surges of energy.

"I can't believe this. Came up here just to find--"

"Chhaaaaaa.. _aaoo_!!"

Startled, Silver turned on his heel and gawked at what he saw: the tiny Chao, the docile and usual bubbly and peaceful pet, was... Shocking the ground? Sparks were being shot into the earth from Topaz's emotion ball, the gem on their belly glowing a bright yellow as it radiated static.

Within seconds of seeing it, the earth in front of the Chao began to lift and disintegrate. Then there was light, that same light Silver had seen earlier.

"Chao..." Topaz weakly chirped as the static faded and fell back, only to be gently caught by the gray hedgehog.

"Wow, buddy... I had no idea you could... do... that...?"

Silver's voice trailed off as his gaze went to the slightly dug up earth. There was that light, less intense than before, and what lay below was a bright golden emerald. There's something oddly familiar about this gem... this glowing, beautiful, rich aurum colored emerald.

He carefully picked up the emerald and stared into the semi-transparency of it. He questioned it before a once lost memory revealed itself.

_"That's one of the seven chaos emeralds. It is said that the emeralds can make your dreams into reality. Hang onto it as a lucky charm."_


	16. Cardinal

_Spatium.  
_ _The void of nothingness.  
_ _A sea of stars and antigravity._

_Home._

_Mother told me that this is what this place was. This odd plane of existence lost to time and one's own memory of a fairytale. Prisionic is how I would describe it. Chained within a sort of solitary confinement, listening to echoes of a ghost. A cold psalm of white noise mimicking the endless nothingness that surrounds me._

_Argentum... if only I had listened. Why did I have to touch it...? Why am I still suffering in this space...? Why couldn't I protect you? Why is it that my actions have led me here? Is this the fate of my future? To drift alone in this cacophony of space? A place where the moon is null, where stars are caged, where will is ripped away from you..._

_I want **out**._

_I feel nothing, I am nothing, I belong to Mother in here._

_Please... Please find me, **Silver.**_

_**\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------** _

Moly awoke from her dream, hoping her internal monologue would reach out beyond this astral environment. She stared up at the stars that loomed over her head. The vast emptiness, the silence, the sheer amount of _nothing_. It was all so much and yet so little. No other people, no one but her mother and her existed in this plane as it would seem. Sitting up, she looked at her mother.

_Was she sitting there watching me the whole time..?_

"When can I go back, mother?"  
"Go back where my ͘dȩare̶sţ?"  
"To Argentu--"  
"N̛o̵t̢ until I say so."

There was a heavy silence before she hesitantly spoke up again, deciding to change the topic, "Mother," Moly began, sitting cross-legged in the empty antigravity space, "what can I do with this?" She asked as she looked at the floating Astrum above her open palm.

"An̸yt͠hi͝n͘g you wish, my daughter."  
"What if I don't know what I wish?"

Silence now between the two beings. Staring at one another as if it were a contest. Static and broken blue eyes meeting hazy violet. Tense was the only way to describe this atmosphere. Tense, cold, and mind-numbing.

"If I can do what I wish, but I don't know what I wish, then what can I exactly do..?"

"As the th̷e v͝es͘s͡el͟, you will accomplish great things," Agatha spoke, stroking her daughter's cheek.

"Mother, this... I don't understand." Moly admitted, placing her hand on her chest. The burning 12 pointed scars evident center stage on her white chest, "I feel like I'm... not right. Not well. Not... myself..."

"You miss somebody." Agatha gave a hollow chuckle, changing the topic, standing in the antigravity void that is Spatium. Her static eyes piercing her daughter's deep amethyst orbs. "Am I right, my child?"

Moly lowered her head as if in shame. She never spoke about any feelings of closeness, no not since her mother's death. It was too painful. She couldn't relive it again, not again, not again, not--

"You worry about that hedgehog too much, my darling."  
"Mother..?"  
"Because if you simply accept being a v͝es͘s͡el͟... then you can cŗeat̨e a world free from pain̵."

There was a... coldness to her mother's voice--no, her entire being. Her mother was ice to the touch, the crystal blue eyes were like spears that pierced through her, but out of all of these characteristics, her voice seemed arctic. Never before has the fox felt such a confusing mix of safety and uncertainty rolled into one person, er, _being_.

Her mother put up a hand to silence her child. Her form was less than flesh and bone, rather appearing pale, obscured and whitewashed. The more and more time she spent with her mother, the more painful her headache got, almost as if her very mind couldn't comprehend what was in front of her. It was mom, it was mom, it was mom...

"My beautiful child, you need to u̷n͠d͟e͘r͘st͡an̶d," Agatha started, taking her daughter's hands as static filled her once clear icy cerulean eyes until not a trace of color remained, "once we arrive in this place, rea̕lįt͟y it͠s͘el҉f̶ does͏n'̡t ͡exįs̡t." She gave a smile, her form shifting harshly into an unimaginable shape.

It isn't that it was beyond the fox's imagination, it was the mere fact that this being was, well, formless; It didn't seem to have a form. The image of her mother as she remembered began to shift into a different shape as a bright white light filled her eyes, followed by a migraine-inducing static. A nauseating wave of static hit her very core, her heart racing as it felt like it was getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Humanity does not suffer from the d͝iseas̵e͠ ̢of͢ wro͢ng ͡beli͡ef̴s̵ but humanity suffers from the contagious n̢atu̢re͠ ơf͜ thę l̶a̵ck of͢ ̵b͘elief͠." Her mother's voice was oddly clear through the white noise, her eyes being forced open to stare at the Astrum. "If the thought of an in͢es͟c̸apąb͡le plaçe̵ of҉ exi̷s̢t͠en͠c͝e͘ ̴doesn'͡t͏ ͜s̡car̴e y͞o҉u̸, ̵thęn͡ ͏y̵o̶u̡ ̨s͢i͠m̕p҉l͜y ̷d̢o̢ no̴t͠ b̵e͜lieve ͝it̶ ̸tơ b̵e̴ ̶rea̵l.͏ And ̷yet͟, ̶it͏ somehow̵ ͠i͡s͡, ̛is̵n͡'̡t i͏t? That being said, you do not believe in it. Even if the sun shines brightly upon your skin every day, if you do not believe in the sunlight, the sunlight does not exis̡t."

This voice... it. was. so. **loud**. Void of any and all emotion. It didn't even sound like her mother anymore, rather echoing disembodiment of shadow. Her train of thought remained out of her control, not that it was in her control since she touched the artifact.

"What does exist amidst the şea ͞of͞ ̡none̸x͢i͟st͠e̶n͝c̸e, is the fact that with this, you can change the world. A world where there is no pain or hurt-- no prejudice. You and the hedgehog can live in p͘eace, ͝a̡n̷d̶ ͟Į ̶wi͠ll ̡be͘ th̷ere..̷.alivȩ.̴"

Moly watched the Astrum float closer to her chest, the burning hole from where it had embedded began to pain her. Sucking the air through her teeth, she held her breath as the burning intensified before fading. There it was, back and deeply embedded in her heart connected to her energy source.

"Oblivious people don't care for u͢n̷rea͢l̨įstic̸ expectations becoming real, even if it plays into their enemies fea͝rs͏. They only ca̢r̨e about themselves. They are selfish, you are selfish,̨ I͜ ̛a͢m͟ ̶s͡e҉lfish. The thing that differentiates us from them is this," the voice echoed in her mind as the Merkaba began to glow from her chest as it resumed, "All things change in a d͠y͜nami̡c̡ e̡nv͟ir̛o͘n̕men̢t. The As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕ holds so much more pow̵er̷ than you will ever realize. Your effort to remain what you are is the only thing that l̴im̢i͢ts you."

Moly struggled to breathe, to gain some sort of control over herself. Before she knew it, when she opened her hazy eyes, the space around her was spinning, similar to the way reality distorted when Silver and her would travel.

She heard the echo of that disembodied voice, "L̨ife perpetuates itself through di̛v̡e͠rs̨i̧ty, and this includes the ability to sacr̕i̢f̢ice itself when necessary." She landed delicately in an alternate timeline. Barely managing to stand up, the voice kept clinging to her conscious, "Cells repeat the process of degen͡ęr̸a͡t͠i̡on͜ and̶ r҉e͘gen̢era̕ti͟on until one day they die҉, obliterating an entire set of mem͘or̸y ͏aņd ͢infoŗm̵at̢io̡n. Why continually repeat this cycle? Simply to s͡urv̛ive͏ by avoiding the w͟eakne̛ss̸e̢s̷ of an unc̡h͏an͏ging system."

Her body moved without her control, almost as if she was watching herself from above. This sense of dissociation was so strong, so mind-numbing. It was getting harder and harder to think...

"This proves that the D͟NA that makes up every little thing is merely pr̡ơgra̸m͠min̢g. Programming that you can... mąni̴pu̵la͘te with the As̸t̵r҉u͏m̕."

Every time she tried to think, move at her own will, or even have her own freedom, her mind became loud with static. Almost like a radio with a faulty connection. A television on a blank channel. Numbing, tingling, fear, and yet serenity. This place, her mind, this reality didn't make sense. Was she even in reality anymore...?

Fighting back was impossible. Echoes of Silver's voice screamed at her not to touch it, warning of corruption. Warning of her losing herself. Another loss. Another lost piece of herself because she didn't listen to him. She blamed herself, hated herself for giving into her dead mother's words, and yet, she was powerless. Nothing but a slave to her _mother's_ demands.

"Hmm yes... My daughter, I do believe that it is time to tes̢t͢ your abilities." Her _mothe_ r spoke up, sensing the rush of power within the fox's body.

Something about that sentence made her consciousness slip, drifting into darkness as she struggled in some way to remain in control... but to no avail. The fox's body numbed, nullifying any and all emotion. Feeling nothing, being nothing, controlling nothing.

"Hm... f̵i͝na̡l͢l͠y͏..." Her voice was deeper, harsher and fuzzy. Akin to the sound emitted by a numbers station. Unsettling and incredibly uncanny. The fox looked down at her hand, bright fuzzy static electrifying around her fingers.

"Now the͢ ̵r̨e̶a̢l fun c͘an̴ ̧be͡gi͠n..."

Static surged through her fingers, her eyes a dark shade of violet mixed with static. No pupils, no sign of life. Merely being controlled. With a snap of her fingers, static shot around the area and turned it into a monochromatic landscape.

"Yes... co҉ntr͠o̡l... ̡pow͝er͜." Her voice was crackling, something akin to a faulty radio. A droning noise filled the world as a white static aura filled her body. She levitated to a high mountain, overlooking a destroyed timeline. "When the s̛ky f̢ell, when the c͡o̵me̷ts͜ ͞rai͏ned͞, I was created. To feel it again, t͢he ͟po̴we͢r̡, yes!" Her voice became more and more distorted as she shouts to the sky. Static flying from her palms as she directed it to the sky.

"Ą s̕a̵c̶r͢i͡f̢i̸͟ce̴҉҉, ̸we̡͜ ͏a̵͘r̵̡e̵҉ ̨a̢ **s̢͠a̡̢͞c̵͞r̡i̧f̶i͞c̵̕͝e**!" The voice became less and less like Moly's, now it was... becoming inhumane. A mere distorted echo full of static, fear, and uncertainty. Black rain began to fall as harsh lighting shocked the plains below.

"Finally... I will create **M̵͝Y͜ ͘͡W͏O҉̕͠R͏L҉D͜͠!** "


	17. False Hope

"Are you sure, we're heading the right way?" Enigma called out, running behind Silver.

"Pretty sure, the emeralds don't just glow for no reason!" He tightly held the golden chaos emerald in his palm. _We have to be getting close to a Rift, or Moly or... something..._

The two stopped after running for chaos knows how long, panting and looking around for the other crystal. His foresight wasn't this off, he **knew** it had to be around here somewhere. If he didn't find it, the emerald would most definitely guide him.

Out of all the places that were mostly forgotten about in Silver's timeline, the one that came as a shock was Winerville. Once a prosperous and bustling little agricultural village, full of traders and used as a source of trading due to the lush lands, was now a broken decrepit ghost town littered in ruins. Skulls of dead animals and mobians alike lay scattered around the decayed lands.

Something about the sight made the teen's hearts ache. So many innocent people most likely killed by the energy pulses caused by the comets. The two looked around at the empty town, the Chao tucked away in Silver's bag for safety. Silver looked away then gave a heavy sigh at the sight before he took a couple of cautious steps into the ghost town.

"What... What is this place?" Enigma asked as they walked through, feeling uneasy at the skulls and lack of life.

"Used to be a busy village. When I was a kid, back when things weren't being destroyed, I would make little side trips here to help out the farmers." Silver replied with a reminiscent tone, "I remember petting the horses, helping milk the cattle, watering the gardens..." He sighed with a smile before looking out at the decayed landscape. His smile fell to a melancholic frown before speaking up, "now its... like every other place I've seen."

Enigma's ears turned back at the hedgehog's crestfallen mood. As they were about to reach out to him, they stopped and began to walk ahead of him. They didn't know why they began to feel protective of this young teen, seeing as they were enemies a mere day or two ago. But a part of them saw the hedgehog as a younger sibling... strange how emotions work like that, huh.

"C-cmon, we gotta find that other emerald." They gave a faint smile, standing in front of Silver and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, r-right." Silver agreed, not letting the bittersweet memories get him down. This was the future, he knew this. If there was a way to stop any further decay, he had to take it.

The two cautiously walked around the village, looking everywhere for the other fallen emerald. It didn't take long before one of the Chao, Scarlet, popped its head from the bag.

It gave an attentive hum as it flew past Silver. Scarlet flexed their tiny blobby claws as they sharpened instantly. They were acting similar to Topaz did with the first emerald as if something was calling for them. They walked forward a bit more before vocalizing a happy squeal and beginning to prod at the soil.

"What's up? Did you find it?" Enigma asked, a tad confused by the Shao's sudden action.

"Interesting..." Silver observed as he watched the Chao continue digging.

It took very little time but they managed to dig a tiny burrow before poking their head out tiredly and handing Silver a bright amethyst crystal. The tiny Chao climbed out of their burrow and fell onto Silver's legs in exhaustion.

Carefully, the light gray hedgehog picked up the emerald and the Chao in his free arm, smiling at the little creature.

"You guys keep surprising me, I had no idea you did things like this..." He turned to Enigma, handing the red Chao to them. "You rest, Scarlet. We found the other emerald. You did great." He praised the power type Chao as the emotion ball above their head turned into a heart before they fell asleep.

"I... didn't even know these little guys could use any powers," Enigma muttered, completely taken back from the pets.

"Yeah, Topaz surprised me with it too." Silver said in response as he looked at the two emeralds in his hands.

***CRACK!***

The teens immediately looked up to the sky from the deafening noise. A flash of bright white light, a distant crash, then the sky went gray.

Enigma gasped as they clutched their head in pain, shaking as they grit their teeth. The shard of clear quartz glowing in their pocket, radiating an unknown energy. Whatever type of aura it was sure began to blank their mind.

"Are you alright?" Silver asked, turning his attention from the gray sky to his friend, catching them from falling.

"W-we gotta go... Something, something is--"

Enigma was caught off by the harsh crackle of thunder, followed by a downpour of... gray rain? It painted the deserted beige landscape a foreboding gray. Sleek like rain, yet it stained like a pen's ink. Someone--no-- _something_ was wrong. Very wrong.

"What is happening...?!" Silver exclaimed, looking around at the droplets of gray "water" that painted the grounds.

"Chaooo...!!" Scarlet along with the other three Chao in Moly's bag began to scream in pain as the rain hit them. Something about this rain, it... caused pain to the little Chao.

Without any hesitation, Silver took the backpack off and set Scarlet and the chaos emeralds inside. He gently smiled and kept his composure as he closed the latch. "Stay here, little guys. I'll let you know when it's safe to--"

_"S҉̡̕i̶̶l͏ve̶r̡̕.̵̷"_

The hedgehog stopped his movements as he heard a whisper. Silent and soft, yet... so familiar. Was that...?

"We need to go!!" Enigma shouted at Silver, grabbing his wrist amplifier and forcing him to his feet.

He grabbed the backpack and swung it around his shoulders as the two began to run through the ghost town. What was one dead and lifeless seemed to turn to grayscale. Just like that one place where everything changed, that one timeline that robbed him of his friend... No. That monochrome hell will _not_ be his future.

The two ran.

And ran.

_And_ **_ran_ ** _._

It felt like hours. Felt like days. Weeks... a month...? No, time wasn't being affected. There was no way... unless there was? No, it was reality, it seemed to be altering itself, changing the very course of one's understanding of time backward. Making the seconds feel longer. The minutes feeling like hours...

Silver couldn't even bring himself to use his levitation to move; this _rain_ was... negating his powers somehow. As if with every drop it kept draining more and more of his energy. He kept forcing his consciousness to stay aware, trying to keep himself awake, mentally screaming at himself to keep going until he finally fell into the grayscale dirt.

Enigma looked to him, their bronze eyes somehow aglow with a soft white energy. They knelt in front of him and tried to keep him awake.

"C'mon, Silver!! Stay awake! Now's not the time for a nap!"

"I-I'm not napping, I just..." He struggled to say, weakly trying to push himself up. "This rain... t-this... this energy...it hurts!" He shouted, feeling a drop of gray rain pummel down around them.

Growling, Enigma looked at the sky. Almost as if they were... not themself, they took out the clear crystal point and pointed it in front of where they were running. Astonishingly, a bright whitewashed rainbow pierced the gray rain and began to swirl before them. Starting a... Rift? By itself? With no comet? How...?

 _"Yσυ иєє∂ тσ gєт υρ! тнє υиινєяѕ͏є ωσи'т gινє υ͏ѕ αиσтнєя ¢нα͏и¢є!"_ The coyote ordered as they-- 'they' leered at the weakened hedgehog. _"Fιиιѕн σρє͏иιиg тнє ρσятαℓ! уσυ ¢αи ∂σ тнιѕ!"_

His vision was blurry, his body felt heavy, his head was hazy. It was so hard to focus, so hard to concentrate... but he had to. He had to save his future, he had to save his friends!

He forced himself to stand and summoned his cyan aura. It hurt... **it. Hurt.** Shocks of static coursing through his legs and breaking his concentration. It was difficult, it was draining, it was painful. Never before had Silver felt anything like this, it was a new and terrifying surge of energy that pierced his very mind.

Shaking it off the best he could, he focused all of his energy into the portal, using his telekinetic hands to pry it open. He shouted as he forced the portal open, his cyan energy dissipating as he began to fall before being caught by Enigma. They helped support him as the two leap into the Rift...

*** * ***

Hard to believe that the only way out of that static nightmare was through a Rift. Once panicked and their will broken from these reality disruptions now was a heaven-sent gift. A different time where the harsh elements didn't appear. It was safe... or so it would've seemed. The two teens fell on the other side of the portal, that dreaded burning rain had stopped as they lay in the discolored grass.

"Augh... Damn it... That hurt..." Enigma groaned in annoyance, sitting themselves up before turning their attention to their rival. "Hey! Fern-head! You ok?"

Silver struggled to speak. All of his energy was ripped out of his. Not to mention the draining white noise that clouded his thoughts...

"Yeah, I'm..." He weakly murmured, doing his best to try and stand, but only being able to weakly push himself up onto his hands and knees.

"So͟ ҉n͞ice of ̛y͡o҉u ͢to͝ ̨vis̡it͠."

Silver and Enigma looked up at the voice. The hedgehog's golden eyes widened as he stared in disbelief. He forced himself to stand, taking trembling steps to the static-eyed being before him.

"M...Moly...?"


	18. Dreamscape

The duo stared at the staticized being. One panicked while the other was blind by anger. They had found her, finally, and yet, it wasn't good. If the two didn't know better, it would definitely be too late. A puppet is a puppet, just as a cheater is a cheater.

Silver gawked at his friend, speechless and... more hurt than ever before.

_No... You said-- you promised me that you would never..._

The black fox swung their arms out, a wave of static and electrical sparks washed the direction. That white noise now hummed loudly in the area. A sense of dread, a game of chance with two pawns on the board.

Enigma struggled to keep themself standing, trying to stand so that they could finally confront Noise about the lies and betrayal. Silver on the other hand...

"Moly!" Silver spoke out, forcing himself to stand and speak despite the numbing pain. "Please! I know you're not--

" ** _Silen͜c͡e, hed̛geho̵g_**." The voice was familiar in tone yet full of a deafening high-frequency noise. This wasn't Moly. "That person, that name, that noun, they no longer exist. Just us, the Sa͝c̢r͢if͜i͏ce."

With a snap of her fingers, ethereal static tendrils shot from the ground and tightly wrapped around Silver's body. The pain was... immeasurable. So much so that screaming was even beyond exertion.

The young teen gasped and cried out in pain as the shocking tendrils pierced his abdomen. Static surged through his core, numbing and disabling all power and remaining energy he had. Swiftly, the thick protruding tendrils dissipated, resulting in him falling to the static area. He coughed harshly nearly retching as he curled up on the ground. That pain, it was... indescribable.

_No, this isn't her. This. Isn't. her. But if it's not her, then who is...?_

"Fina̕ll̕y... You really were a pest. It is about time you silenced that mouth of yours." The fox gave a harsh laugh. Before they could hit Silver again, the coyote stood up and took a step in between the weakened hedgehog and the power-hungry fox.

 _"_ иσιѕє."

The fox looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Enigma with a faded pastel aura. Said aura was cycling through the colors of the rainbow in a gentle manner. They were standing, as if unaffected by the static environment.

"ℓєανє нιм αℓσиє."

"My oh my. Look at you and your new e͞n̛er̶g͏y. Intriguing." The fox laughed, stepping down from the rock and circling the coyote. "Oh, of course, you want answers. Perhaps answers as to why we did what we did? Answers of our decision to leave your weak body? Or maybe, an answer to your burning question of why we took the power away from you?"

Enigma watched the entity, stepping back before glaring with those faded bronze eyes.

"Yσυ ѕтαтє тнє qυєѕтισиѕ, уєт уσυ fαιℓ тσ gινє ͏мє αиу αиѕωєяѕ. ιf ι ωєяє уσυ, ι'∂ ѕтαят єχρℓαιиιиg fαѕт." The coyote threatened, vines beginning to crawl up the fox's legs.

With a laugh and gentle touch of the vines, they turned to static, severing the connection between nature and telekinesis. "Yo͘u͞ ͘amu͠se̷ ̶us,͜ ch̶i̸ld. Seeking us out on your own i̕n͏it͝ia̢t̸i̕v̢e, then throwing a fit when we do not give you what you want."

"ωну ∂ι∂ уσυ͘ тα͢кє͘ αωαу̨ му͢ σ͜иℓу ¢͢нαи¢є тσ fιχ тнιѕ вяσкєи ωσяℓ∂?" They ask bluntly, staying stoic as their eyes glued to the being. Statisized soil seemed to cleanse where the teen stood, almost as if the aura purified the corruption.

Weakly, Silver pushed himself up on his hands and knees. He watched as Enigma stood in front of him conversing with "Moly". The pain in his abdomen had begun to fade, yet the shocks of static were ever so draining. He noticed the ground around himself and Enigma being... cleared? How?

No, it didn't matter right now.

His ears twitched at the backpack that had fallen on the ground, to which he picked it up and checked on the Chao. They were... unconscious. Not good...

"You misunderstand the power of the As̴t̕ru̡m҉, child."

"уσυ тσℓ∂ мє тнαт ι ¢συℓ∂ ¢яєαтє α мσяє υи∂єяѕтαи∂ιиg ωσяℓ∂ ωιтн ιт! тнαт ι ¢συℓ∂ єяαѕє єνєяутнιиg αи∂ мαкє ιт σνєя!"

"With the cost of your own ex͝i̵stenc̷e̡."

Growling, Enigma took a step closer to the fox, "ωнσ ¢αяєѕ ιf ι'∂ вє fσяgσттє͏и?! ιт ωσ͏υℓ∂ ¢яєαтє α мσяє υи∂єяѕ͢тαи∂ιиg ωσяℓ∂, σиє ωнєяє ρєσρℓє ℓιкє мє ωσи'т вє тσѕѕє∂ αяσυи∂ αи∂ ℓαυgнє∂ αт fσя вєιиg ∂ιffєяєит!"

The fox took a step, static and white-washed hues blend together. The energy was... chaotic, to put it lightly. Pale bronze met dark staticized amethyst as the two peered into one another.

"But why create a world where you do not e͏x͘is̷t? Wouldn't you want to see what your d̵e͝si͝r̡e becomes?" the fox places their thumb and index finger on Enigma's chin as they resumed, "After all, that is what you drea͡m̵eḑ of. A world where all life is equal and there is no prejudice. Quite the q̕uand̴a̵ry it is that you would not s̸ee it come to fruition, hmm?"

The coyote growled, misty white energy enveloping their fists as they jumped back from the fox. They shot a bright projectile at the being who dodged it. Static spikes dug into the ground near Enigma, slightly numbing their feet but not disabling them. They shouted as they formed vines surrounded in this mysterious veil that curled around the static spikes, shattering them and to some extent, cutting concentration off for a moment to the fox.

Enigma prepared another large blast of energy, throwing it in the direction of the static controller, but barely missing as they jumped out of the way. Suddenly, a thunderous crash sounded as static rain began to violently pour from the gray sky above. The fox growled, summoning a wave of static that rippled through the earth as they then vanished from sight.

Silver cried out as the static pierced him once more, nullifying him to a pathetic degree. He could barely stay conscious; feeling his body so numb, his mind so blank, he felt so... _exhausted_. But he had to move, to at least protect the Chao and the emeralds. He protectively clutched the knapsack, holding it close as the rain beat down on his being.

The coyote jumped back and quickly picked up Silver upon seeing his weakened state, enveloping him and the knapsack with their misty iridescent aura. Almost as if the aura canceled out the harsh corruption in a way. They ran desperately through the corrupted environment. They had to find a safe place to seek shelter, at least in _some_ way. This was a past timeline they're in, they had to keep their eyes peeled for a hiding spot out of the rain...


	19. Narcissus

Thunder was relaxing for the coyote. The flashes of light that preceded the gentle rumble of the angels bowling. Clouds that spoke more wise words than the blue skies. Yes, this was relaxing. Well, it could be.

Enigma finally turned their gaze from the storms to their rival who was silently tending to the four Chao next to them. He watched the little creatures struggle in their sleep, fidgeting and whimpering from their unconscious dreams.

"Will they be ok?" The coyote asked, gently propping the little critters up so that they were resting on the backpack.

"Dunno, they aren't waking up. Its almost like they're trapped in some sort of nightmare." Silver responded as he gave a sad look at the Chao. "Probably from all this stupid weird rain. It... feels so mind-numbing; it's almost like--"

"White noise," Enigma spoke up, cutting Silver off as they looked out to the rain. "A loud yet silent persistent screaming that kills your nerves, twisting your psyche together until you lay on the ground in a tangled heap of limbs and immobilization."

Several seconds of silence passed before anything else was said.

"Heh, kinda broody don't ya think?" Silver gave an innocent grin that quickly faded when they noticed Enigma's distant stare.

"You're such an idiot."  
"Well pardon me for trying to lighten the mood."  
"You're still an idiot."

Silver sighed in indignation as he crossed his arms. Silence fell upon the two once more. Just the two of them in a makeshift viney shelter as corrupted 'rain' poured down.

"But you aren't affected by it, En." The hedgehog spoke up as they observed the bright crystal shard of the Astrum that was intricately wrapped in vines around the coyote's neck.

"What do you mean? I feel that mind-numbing pain just like you do."

"No, I mean, back there with the Crystalback and now with this strange rain, there's something weird about it." He gestured to the crystal.

"How so?" The older teen tilted their head ever so slightly as the instinctively began to feel the smooth side of said crystal.

"Well, you... you kinda give off a weird aura. It's white and kinda looks iridescent? I mean, I think it does? I don't know how it happens but it's almost as if something possesses you."

Needless to say, Enigma was never aware of any change. They just felt an overwhelming desire to try and get answers to Noise's betrayal.

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them, prompting Silver to change the subject.

"Who's 'Noise'?" The question came to him suddenly and quite out of nowhere.

"Noise is..." Enigma paused, closing their eyes for a couple of moments before sighing heavily, "something that I can't explain."

They already spoke about Noise too much, what was the point of concealing anything else from Silver at this point? Better question was: how do you describe something that is so otherworldly that even you can't make it out? Noise, Spatium, that artifact... what did it all mean? What was it all?

Confused, Silver tilted his head as he rested his arms on his knees.

"What do you mean?"

There was a long pause before the coyote spoke up once more, "What I mean is Noise is someone--something that can't be explained." The older teen gave a heavy sigh and continued, "It is an entity which exists in this place that... for years I thought only existed in my mind. It is called Spatium and it..."

They exhaled sharply, tightly shutting their eyes at the memory of Spatium.

"It feels like it doesn't exist, that everything that happens within it is some sort of dreamish hell you're stuck in."

The coyote cleared their throat as they began, "being in Spatium is unlike any sort of time traveling you've done. It... it makes you question yourself, your concept of reality." Enigma tightly shut their eyes, clutching at their arms at the memory.

"Every weightless second you spend within that place, it feels as if there are all these hands. Hands with long sharp claws, groping around your skull, consuming everything you once knew about reality, the known world, everything." They spoke, seemingly in a trance as they hung their head in shame. "I can't believe I became apart of that..."

Enigma began to shake, "Looking at Noise, the illusions it makes, it's like a damn mirror. It's almost like Noise, or Spatium, or whatever the hell it is, staring at me isn't really me. It's like they're just an imitator and--"

The coyote stopped their rambling as they felt arms wrap around them.

"You don't have to keep talking about it. I understand." Silver spoke in a calm tone. Gentle. Comforting...

Enigma hesitated before eventually hugging their friend back. Feeling the comfort and kindness of the one they perceived as a threat just a few weeks ago... it was an odd feeling.

After a while, the two released one another and began to speak about the Astrum, Noise, and Spatium. Then the topic that made them both divide in opinion.

"There is a way to save her, right?"

Enigma gave a laugh at his rival's stupid question.

"You can't just jump out there, do yer psycho-mumbo-jumbo, and expect her to be back to normal."  
"Hey, look, don't start with me! I can save her from this Noise guy no matter how mysterious or edgy they are!"

"Have you even been listening to a damn word I've been saying?!" Enigma snapped back at Silver, hands clenched into fists as he grit his teeth. "You can't just stop Noise! They can shut off any sort of ability you throw at them! You're an idiot if you actually try to fight them."

"Oh, then what's your idea of stopping then?" Silver asked, his anger getting the better of him as his golden eyes glared daggers at the older teen. "Just letting her suffer under the Astrum?!"

"I could care less about her, I just want my answers." Their tone was cold.

"Are you kidding me?! All this time you just want some dumb answers about what, taking over the world?!"

"No you dense fern-head! Answers as to why I couldn't fix this chaos-forsaken world!"

Things went dead silent between the two teens. Enigma seemed to have reached the peak of his patience with Silver's questions. Something about him--possibly his complete innocence and unawareness of the kind of power that artifact held-- made the older teen quite envious. If only they didn't know as much as Silver... _if only_...

"Remaking the world? What do you mean by that?"

"... With the Astrum, you..."

For some reason, it was difficult to explain. Yet, this wasn't surprising. Everything lately was hard to explain.

They couldn't finish answering, as there was a sudden bright light that radiated from the shard. The two teens were temporarily blinded by the brightness, shielding their eyes.

The white pure light released warm and comforting energy as it morphed into something unexpected.

A thin delicate being with large wings akin to that of a Luna Moth's took form. Fuzzy antennae placed so perfectly upon their head, six thin arms that held out to their sides in an open gesture. Pastel rainbow cycling compound eyes that were soft and kind.

The body was a beautiful mix of pure white, moonlight blue, and shining iridescence. The crystal shard disconnected itself from Enigma's neck and was placed in the middle of the pure creature's forehead.

As the light died down, the two teens slowly looked to the being. their eyes widened as they were both left speechless. They only had one question.

In unison, they asked, "Who are you?"

With a soft noiseless flap of their giant grand wings, they spoke in a motherly tone, "му иαмє ιѕ αχισм."


	20. Divine Decree

"Wait! I know who you are!" Silver spoke up as soon as he heard the name. "You're that person Moly spoke to all the time!"

Enigma could only stare in disbelief. How did... who did...? What was this? What just happened? What kind of world was this? Was anything they were seeing real? If Noise taught them anything it was that things we see are not always real. So how in the world can any of this be considered a piece of reality?

Better yet, how in the world did that piece of the Astrum suddenly give way to a whole being?

"Hold on here," Enigma spoke up, interrupting the Moth. They stood up, eye to eye with the figure. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"

The moth only smiled with a kind and positive energy.

"Oh forgive me, child of the flora," the moth landed on their thin feet, eyes full of a welcoming gaze, "I am Axiom. Mother of the moon and creator of the stars."

The moth levitated with a kind and ethereal motion, pastel cycling rainbow eyes spoke of kindness and openness. They held one pair of their arms by their side as the other two pairs of arms were slightly outstretched, wisps of an unknown element in the palms.

She looked to Silver, an unreadable emotion trekking her face as she grinned.

"You must be Argentum. It is wonderful to see you." Their voice was gentle, almost soothing.

"Argentum?"

"Yes, that is your name, is it not?"

Silver stared with a raised brow, cluelessly scratching his cheek.

"Argentum is the chemical name for Silver, dunce." His rival nudged him with his elbow.

The hedgehog could only tilt his head before turning back to Axiom.

"Whatever, how did you find us? Where did you even come from?"

"I come from the moon, the stars, and the breath of the big creation."

The effeminate moth took notice of the Chao and lovingly picked all four up in their other two sets of arms. Axiom stretched their enormous wings, dusting the viney enclosure in a shower of spores. Silver and Enigma shut their eyes from the fuzziness.

"Hey! What're you--"

"Chao!"

As Silver opened his eyes, he grinned and gave a happy giggle at what he saw. The four previously comatose Chao were now awake and flying around. The younger teen was tackled by the critters, falling to the ground as he held all four of the unique little ones close.

Topaz, the happiest, nuzzled into Silver's chest fur, squealing with excitement.

The moth lowered her head, wings swaying daintily in the antigravity aura that surrounded her. She was... less than mobian, in fact, she looked alien. Something out of this world. Spores of a mysterious element flickering from her grand silky wings.

"Forgive me, young ones, for appearing so late to you. There is little time, and much for me to explain."

The two teens, sitting down once more, found themselves in a strange trance. Something similar to a telepathic connection between one all three of them. As the heavy feeling in their heads increased gradually and without any pain, the teens soon found themselves asleep.

Physically that was.

Another consciousness within them was listening to the telepathy from the... person? Whatever being this alien creature was.

Silver and Enigma watched in a benign state of sleep paralysis as Axiom's spores formed into pictures, almost like constellations, as they began to speak.

"As I stated before, I come from the vast pit of stars and celestial bodies." The moth began, spores creating different pictures as she continued, "you see, when the universe was created, so was I and my twin, Paradox. I was responsible for the nocturnal cape over the world, while Paradox was responsible for the diurnal waking that followed."

The two teens watched the pictures form into a yin and yang formation, a twelve-pointed star in the center of the two moths. Yang being Paradox, Yin being Axiom.

"Together, we merged our powers to birth the stars above, filling the endless void of night with bright children of my twin." The being smiled, closing their eyes. "For decades, it was peaceful. Serene. The calm before the storm." The smile turned into a frown as they partly opened their eyes.

The spores swirled into a new image: Axiom with the twelve-pointed star in the middle of their chest.

"When our children began to worship us as their gods, I made the mistake a god never should..." Spores created a larger image of the star.

"I created an artifact to bless our children with knowledge. A special star made of a collection of my spores-- it was called the Astrum."

Axiom softly exhaled before resuming, "It was to provide the children of Mobius with knowledge of timelines, the history of the world. It was a gift. Something for our children of Mobius to look up to and find it as a source of all information."

"It would correct itself according to proper history, change the flow of time, rewrite the history of Mobius into whoever wielded it into whatever they wished. Such an artifact as this, to hold records of timelines that have been altered, or changed entirely, along with its power, the unseeable can be seen with much ease."

Axiom's spores clustered together before making another image. Paradox and Axiom at two different ends with the Astrum in the center.

"Only we could wield such a powerful tool because we knew what it could do."

"And yet... that very idea of remaking a world began to envelop my twin."

Spores hesitated, yet formed into an image of Paradox holding the Astrum.

"Paradox went mad with obsession, mad with the potential power. In our hands, the option to make the most perfect world was at such an easy reach. I craved no such thing, but my twin..."

Axiom closed their eyes as they continued, "Upon seeing the potential to bring forth their ideal world with their history, Paradox stole the star. They began to rewrite historical events, creating new worshippers for themself, altering history to fit their desires. The selfishness exhibited by my twin seeped into the star, corrupting it and turning it into something that... only they could wield."

"As their power-hungry state increased, I realized that I couldn't take back the artifact. So, I..." Axiom opened their eyes. "Sealed them within the star. As long as a mortal never touched the star, they were tightly sealed within and unable to change anything. For if one of our children on Mobius touched the Astrum, it would spread Paradox's corruption like a plague until it destroyed the mortal body."

The dreamlike state faded from the enclosure, leaving the two teens drowsy but aware.

"Paradox... they corrupted my spores to act against my divinity. Effectively making the purity of the star corrupt, turning it into a twisted device for their selfish desires."

The moth steadily stared down then shut their eyes. I thougnt our children on Mobius would pray and believe in us much more deeply... but what I didn't take into account was just how much corruption had already spread into our beloved planet."

"This is all way over my head." Silver admitted, scratching his cheek idly as he tried to understand all of this. "Why are you telling us all of this?"

Enigma stared down steadily, feeling a state of unimaginable derealization from all of this information.

"I need you to lead my twin to Felsic, and the only way you can reach it is with the Chaos Emeralds."

"Felsic... I've been there before when I fought this one," he pointed a thumb to Enigma before continuing, "It completely made everything numb, not in a bad way, but I couldn't tap into my power."

The deity nodded as their wings flapped so calmly without any sound.

"Yes, it is... a place completely under my control. A realm of severed reality where our children with chaos power are 'turned off' in a sense. So we can make a judgment for those of the departed. Think of it as a more... ethereal plane of existence."

"I've heard about it." Enigma finally said, clearing their throat and trying to clear their clouded thoughts. "Noise said that the only way to reach places like that and Spatium is to become a vessel."

There was a bit of silence before Axiom continued, "Paradox is the one you refer to as 'Noise'." They looked to Enigma. "The 'vessel' Paradox speaks of is to give them a physical form, just like they were as a god."

Silver and Enigma looked to one another before looking back to Axiom.

"Wait, is this 'Noise' person..."

"Yes, that is my twin. My... unfortunately corrupted twin."

Spores danced together, creating a constellation of the Merkaba.

"This is why I could not undo the damage that was caused... until you severed that piece. The corruption faded out the second it became unlinked from my twin. It allowed me to reopen my connection to the shard, protecting it, and the holder, from further harm."

"And it sounds like you have already met Molybdenum. My loyal rogue whom I have gifted with stealth.

You see, the rogue was guided by my hand to follow you, Argentum, as you persued Paradox. I would know the location of my twin at every second, watching as they inhabited one broken timeline to another. Jumping the clock and playing a twisted game of cat and mouse."

Axiom's body gave a lovely blue-green hue as the two chaos emeralds began to lift out of the backpack.

"That is why I sent these gifts to you, Argentum. You must be the one to seal my twin away."


	21. Orenda

Silence filled the niche vined enclosure as the teens thought about what the deity had said. Silver sealing away Noise? A mortal entrapping a God? There weren't any words that could describe just how much insanity this all was. Considering the current state of his future though, this wasn't too hard to comprehend.

"This is absurd," Enigma spoke up, dark bronze eyes leering at the moth.

"Dearest child of Flora," Axiom began, approaching the coyote. "I understand it is a difficult thing to ask of two young children but I know you two are the only ones able to stop my sibling."

"How do you know that, though?" Enigma retorted, taking a cautious step back from the deity. "What inclination can you possibly have that we can do anything?"

"Because you both have been to the only area of nullification." The moth's wings sprinkled some spores, forming star maps of imagery. "Felsic, as I have mentioned, is a place nestled in the vast emptiness of the astral world. Somewhere that is inaccessible by any mortal means."

The moth looked to Silver as they continued to speak.

"You, Argentum, have passed that realm before."

Silver looked down, trying to wrap his mind together and searching for any memories. "I do remember Felsic. It was almost impossible for me to move due to the just... pure gray energy that was around me." He pointed to Enigma, "you didn't seem to have any issues with moving, Enigma."

"I don't even remember being in that place," Enigma replied, trying to trigger any memory of the event.

"While under my sibling's power, you were immune to the effects of Felsic." The moth puts her hands on her chest, sighing softly, "Since the plane is so dense with negative energy, it is near impossible for any being to use abilities outside of my sibling and me."

"Then, how would we even get Noise- er, Paradox- into Felsic?" The coyote asked, looking down as their minds raced, "If we can't use our powers in that place, how would holding them in there even be possible..?"

Silver was quiet as he listened to the question. He felt so confused, to say the least.

"Simple," Axiom looks to Silver, "Argentum, you have not felt the corruption of my sibling's power. Your energy, the abilities you were born with, have made you impossible to use as a vessel." She continued, closing her eyes, "Pure un-aligned psychokinesis is incredibly rare. As such, your abilities are not affected by my sibling's energy."

"Wait, if that's true, then why do I get so... worn out when their power hits me?" Silver spoke up. Admittedly, he was wary of how this was going.

"As a pure psychokinetic, you may not be able to be used as a vessel, but you are twice as susceptible to the nullification. Unless," She answered before they retrieved the shard from her forehead and held it out to him, "you wield my power."

Silver could only gawk at the offer before asking, "wait why can't I just use the chaos emeralds? Wouldn't that give me enough power?"

Axiom shook their head.

"The other five emeralds were sealed away to prevent my twin from abusing them. It was unlikely, but... after they gave into temptation, I did not wish to take any chances."

The space became silent as Silver glanced at Enigma, who shrugged.

"... But... I don't want to become a tool for otherworldly power. Isn't there any other way?"

"I truly wish there was, my dear. But this is the only way."

"The only way to fix my future and... save Moly." He spoke to himself before clenching his fist in determination.

"Argentum, all you must do is use my power to send Paradox into Felsic. After that, I will reclaim what is rightfully mine."

"...Alright. I'll do it."

*******

"I do not understand!" Moly shouted as they punched a staticized tree. "This pathetic wench, using MY energy against me?!"

The corrupted fox stared at the indent in the tree, enraged at the burned mark on their arm. They were so... furious. Furious at the fact that their elder sister now had control over a piece of the star. The Astrum was theirs, not hers. After all, it was she who left it unguarded! Floating endlessly in that damn prison!

"No, you don't deserve it Axiom."

The fox put their hand over the smooth yet cracked surface of the Merkaba. "This power is mine and mine alone, not yours. I will do whatever I need to keep this energy. Then... Then I will create the world that I want."

The fox glared at the sky as they stepped away. Little did Noise know, Moly's body was beginning to feel the full pained effects of constant power. The body's strength was failing, being unable to walk for long periods of time and quickly losing strength.

But to Noise? No, that didn't matter. They wanted the sacrifice, for once they have that, then they would have enough power to truly overthrow Axiom.

The fox swung their fingers out, turning the tree to ashes as they gripped the star that lay indented in their chest. Their attention turned to the sky as they bared their fangs. With a shout of fury, what once was dull and soothing purple turned to pure darkness as static shocks shot into the sky.

"When the sky falls, the stars will rain upon Mobius." The fox murmured to themself.

"Noise."

The coyote jumped up down from a nearby cliff, eyes burning with fury at the list in front of them. They stood up, vines and grass sprouting from their steps. They felt no more fear, no more anxiety. This was the liar who promised them ultimate power, the being that had trapped them for so many long grueling years.

Noise watched as the coyote came face-to-face with them. The fox cloaked themself in a static barrier, to which Enigma jumped back. Noise jumped, levitating in the air and backing away. The coyote could only laugh, using vines to hoist themself up to Noise's eye level.

"Why do you want to flee, Noise?" The coyote asked rather boldly, vines with needle-like thorns wrapping around the barrier, "I thought you had a whole urge of power-hungry motives. Or did that die along with the promises you handed to me?"

Without showing any emotion, the fox whipped its tail and turned the vines to ash. They held their palm out and delivered a pulse of kinetic energy that violently forced the coyote back onto the ground. They spoke no words as they landed in front of the coyote.

"Still you believe you are entitled to wielding such power. The infinity of this energy is something you cannot comprehend."

"I never cared for that power, Noise." Enigma stood, clenching their fists, "I wanted to create a better world, not destroy it like you!"

Their eyes turned darker, levitating the coyote up with a tight psychic hold on their throat. Enigma struggled against the grip, glaring at the fox. Vines shot out from the ground behind Noise, who dodged the attack expertly. Instead of landing an impact on Noise, the thorns and vines hit the coyote.

"You are truly worthless. You can't even wield your own power. Pathetic."

With a scoff, the fox held their palm out and shot a heavy shock of static at the coyote. Grayscale dust flew from the earth as the impact hit, stray sparks of nullified energy pulsating in the ground.

As the dust settled, the fox's eyes went wide at the sight- that silver hedgehog holding his palms out, creating a protective shield. Somehow, he... was not affected by the nullification.

"That's enough, Paradox." Silver spoke, his golden-amber eyes shining with holy energy. Wisps of teal energy coated Enigma, protecting them from the harsh energy.

The fox was silent upon sensing the energy within the hedgehog. It was... familiar. Different, but familiar. Not hostile, but protective.

"I see. So my foolish sibling has made you her vessel."

"I'm not a puppet. This is the only way to stop you, and save my future." Silver spoke, lowering the shield.

"If you believe her power can stop me, then do it." Paradox laughed hollowly, "fight me."

With a quick nod to Enigma, the hedgehog jumped onto a summoned vine, spreading his fingers onto said vine, encasing it in a holy aura.

Static shocks fired in their direction, to which the vine whipped out of direction. Silver charged up a psychokinetic blast and fired it at the fox, making them stagger back from the holy energy.

Cyan cloaked his body as he levitated to Paradox. The fox shouted as the Astrum bled corruption; black ink spurting from the wound in their chest as Silver got closer. Throwing his hands up to the sky, the two chaos emeralds spun around his body.

Paradox could only glare as he felt the mortal body begin to fail, muscles tightening and breath hastening as they summoned more nullifying energy. With a scream, they released a wave of corruption that forced Silver back, but it also allowed the agrokinetic to wrap a holy vine around the fox, immobilizing the body.

Straightening his stance and with the energy from the chaos emeralds, Silver dashed to his foe, tightly gripping the chaos emeralds as he began to spoke.

"The 7 servers bestowed to Mobius. Chaos is power, enriched by the heart."

Silver's bright chromatic eyes stayed locked on Paradox's dark staticized ones as he chanted the ancient mantra. The gold and violet emeralds floated out of his hands and encircled the fox.

"Keepers of Chaos, by decree of the universe, I dispel you from this mortal!"

A hollow inhuman shriek, a flash of white, an earth-shattering rumble, sounds of glass shattering, pieces being thrown in every direction, and then...

Nothing.

Nothing but silence, blackness, a place far from the scenery of Mobius. There were small specks of stars that dotted the sky, forming pictures if one looked hard enough; constellations shining in the dark cool colored sky.

Something about this vast emptiness was so... Nostalgic to Silver.

"Beautiful, aren't they, Silver?"

"Yeah."

Blaze used a tiny ember that danced on her fingertip to trace an image in the sky.

"What is that one?"

The hedgehog studied the image carefully before the flames went to smoke. His gaze drifted from the flames to the stars in the sky.

"Uhm... I think it's a harp." He pointed out the stars and traced his fingers to the lines he saw.

The two locked eyes and smiled for a moment before looking back out to the sky.

"Excellent. That collection is called Lyra. It is said to fill people who see it with courage, hope, and peace."

When Silver looked back, about to comment on her words, he could only stare in semi-shock.

His friend was no longer a cat, instead, it was her. Moly.

"They say constellations are road maps to the universe." She resumed, violet eyes meeting and smiling at the hedgehog, "used to help travelers find their way many years ago."

Everything went dark again...

"Stars are a gift to the world, aren't they?"

When Silver opened his amber eyes, he groaned from having blacked out so suddenly. His eyes drifted up at the sky, eyes widened at the sky. A beautiful array of colors, mixing in a vortex-like swirl towards a black circular void in the center of the sky. Stars and constellations painting the sky with lore and folktales, star signs and the like. It was something out of a dream.

Looking down, he found himself laying on a slab of rock that was secured by some form of gravity. His eyes widened at his friend that lay exhausted by his side.

"Moly!"

Gently lifting her up and helping her sit up, he noticed the deep burn mark in her chest. Using his energy, he did his best to try and heal the mark, but to no avail.

"Dang it! C'mon!" He tried to force more of that sacred holy energy, but it failed. That energy has left him, and he was now, once again, powerless.

"Here." Enigma knelt down to Silver, handing him an herb that resonated a magickal energy.

"En? Are you ok? What happ-"

"No idea. There was a big flash of light and then, nothing." Enigma spoke as they placed the leaf on Moly's wound. Their bronze eyes looked to Silver. "You okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay." Silver answered, relieved to see her breathing at least.

The two teens looked at the sky before Enigma spoke up again, "we must be in Felsic."

"Yeah. I almost didn't notice it at first." Silver looked to the landscape, seeing a bright white orb and deep black orb in the mountains ahead.

"Is that Axiom and Paradox?"

"Has to be."

"Hard to believe that we've got this far, huh?" The fox spoke with a cough.

Silver immediately looked to her in his arms, smiling brightly as he hugged his friend.

"Oh, chaos! Moly! I'm so glad! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Man, you really are lucky," Enigma said quietly as they watched the exchange.

The fox hesitated, then wrapped her arms around her friend.

"I am fine, Silver. Please, don't worry about me."

"How can I not? You almost got killed!"

"I didn't, did I?"

"Ugh, just kiss already." Enigma scoffed, standing up and turning to the image of the deities on the mountain.

"Oh, that's right."

Moly struggled to stand, Silver, helping support her on his arm. "You're Enigma. I'm sorry I couldn't introduce myself sooner."

Enigma glanced back at the fox, grinning a bit at her politeness. "It's fine. When Noise gets in your head, it can be hard to tune them out."

The three looked to the mountains, fear and sorry beginning to settle in their chests.

"Well... what do we do...?"


	22. Euonia

The trio stared at the two deities on top of the mountain in the distance. They knew that this was the final stand, it had to be... right? What else did they have to lose now?

As Moly retrieved her backpack, the four Chao flew out, happily squealing as they snuggled into her arms. She gave a small chuckle as she pat each of their heads. Two landed on Moly's shoulder and the other two on Silver's.

"Well... what do we do?" Silver asked, idly rubbing Topaz's head.

Enigma shrugged, putting their hand on their hip. "Who knows? Wait for the end of the world."

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine," Moly muttered before sitting herself down on the rock.

"Says that one who can't even stand."

"En, c'mon." Silver cut them off, helping Moly relax. He took careful consideration of her body, knowing how exhausted she must be. "Are you gonna be okay? You don't look-"

"Silver." Despite her extremely tired appearance, her voice was still so stern yet gentle. "I am fine. Please, we have more important things to worry about."

Silver hesitated, watching as her expression went from cold to warm. Her stubborn frown turned to a calm grin as she put a hand on his shoulder. "I promise, I will be alright."

"Right... if you say so." He nodded, returning a sheepish smile.

There was a sudden flash of light as the black orb vanished, followed by the white orb shortly after.

"I wonder if destroying an all-powerful creation you made is easy." Enigma pondered, watching as the two orbs appeared in the same place and began attacking each other.

"It can't be easy." The fox spoke up, watching it all. "Axiom has tried to fix so much of what Paradox has destroyed over the years."

"There has to be something we can do." Silver stood up, clenching his fists. "We can probably help."

"If you have any fancy god power, then maybe." Enigma scoffed, looking down. "Remember, our powers won't work here."

As if remembering, Silver groaned heavily in frustration and shook his head. "Dang it! That's right..."

Moments of silence passed before another bright flash of light, followed by silence and only the white orb being visible. Within seconds, the orb vanished only to appear in front of the trio. An exhausted Axiom holding two items.

"Children," the god spoke, handing a polished golden topaz out to Silver, "please, take this stone. It is called a Time Stone. You can use it to travel to a different timeline safely."

Silver stared st the crystal before speaking up, "but what about the-'

"The chaos emeralds you had, they shattered from the immense power that had been used." Axiom answered before extending a healing hand to Moly, healing her back to as normal as she could be. "If anything gets any worse, you will need to travel out of here from that stone."

"But, Paradox, what happened?" Enigma asked.

Axiom looked down at the heavily corrupted and cracking stone. "They are... sealed for right now, but for them to be fully sealed away, we must cleanse the Astrum."

"How can we do that?"

"The chaos emeralds are gone, there's no way we can cleanse it!"

"I'll cleanse it."

Silver and Moly looked to Enigma who took a step to the levitating moth deity.

"What're you..?"

"Of course..." Moly blinked a few times, standing up with no problem, "for anything to be changed with the Astrum, there needs to be a sacrifice. That's all Noise- er Paradox- would talk about."

"Correct. For a proper seal to form, the Astrum will need a permanent opposing force within, that way the seal is multiple times stronger. That and... My sibling will be truly locked away, unable to communicate with any other mortal." The moth looked at the trio before speaking again, "in layman's terms, the star is too corrupted for my power to breach. It will need a... a vessel; it will need an additional power source. One that is not corrupted but familiar enough with the energy field that their soul can withstand it."

The three looked at one another before Silver stood up.

"I can do it! If it can change the future back to normal, then let me!" Silver immediately spoke up, taking a step to Axiom.

The moth shook her head. "No, you cannot. Your soul is too..." She hesitated before finding her words, stardust floating off of her wings. "You are not compatible with it. The artifact will be destroyed if you try."

"Well, that would be good then! We won't have to deal with any more corrupted timelines!"

"You're missing the point, Silver," Moly spoke up, taking his hand to help her stand up. "If the crystal is destroyed, then time as we know it will become nonexistent."

"Indeed. As the sole god left, I cannot allow that to happen to Mobius."

"I'll do it," Enigma finally spoke, holding their hand out to Axiom. "I've already said I've wanted my wish to come true, maybe now that can happen."

"Enigma..." Silver started before trying to take their arm away. "No way! If you become the vessel, then you'll..."

The coyote gave a light chuckle as they turned to face Moly and Silver. "All my life I have been familiar with the energy of the Astrum. It has been embedded in my energy field." They carefully took the star into their palms, smiling down into the swirling dull rainbow core of the Merkaba. "I've always wanted to make things better. Make the world a more understanding place. A place where people like me, the outcasts of society, the kinetics, the elemental and psychokinetics can live in peace."

"Enigma..."

"En! Stop! Think this through! You might die!"

The star burst into a ball of white light, surrounding Enigma into an accepting aura of the Astrum. Misty trails of rainbow and dull hues swirled around the coyote. They levitated in front of Silver and Moly, looking down into the star. They then looked to Silver and Moly, smiling.

"I always wished for a more understanding world. So maybe, it can be just that."

Axiom nodded, stardust bursting from their wings as the particles enveloped the deity and the coyote until they both were too bright to look at.

"Argentum, use the time stone. Your mission is complete." A voice echoed, mixed with all three beings voices.

Moly grabbed Silver's hand, looking to him as he continued to stare. A part of him was so amazed at his rival's wish, he didn't know what to do or say. A world where The Council wasn't after him? Would Onyx City finally allow kinetics to exist? What about the future? No more meteors?

Silver shook his head, eyes shut as he held Moly's hand tightly. He held up the stone towards the black universal hole in the sky. The words came to him as if they were engraved deep into his mind.

"Crius Control!"

The fox stood on the outskirts of Onyx City, watching the kinetic children laugh and have fun using their powers. The Council was watching to ensure no harm came of it, of course, the bots watching the civilians.

"Heya. Still out here?" Silver spoke up, landing next to his friend on the hill.

"Mhm. What brings you here?" Moly asked, her gaze not leaving the city.

"Just came to check on you." He smiled. "Hey, where's my little buddy at?"

At his call, Topaz flew out of Moly's backpack, chirping happily as it latched onto Silver's shoulder.

"Aw, nice to see ya too, buddy!"

Moly smiled before she leaned against the tree on the hill. The other three chao fluttered out of her bag and flew around the two of them. "So do you think their wish came true?" She pondered, watching as Silver sat down to play with the chao that huddled around him.

"I like to think so." He answered before patting the space beside himself. He smiled a slight blush on his face as Moly joined him. "The universe works in mysterious ways, ya know." He continued, setting Jade and Topaz into his lap. His hand found itself entangled with Moly's fingers as he looked at the sky.

Moly nodded before looking up at the strawberry orange sky, flecks of stars beginning to brighten up as the sun began to fall over the horizon. "And it's like they say..."

"Constellations are road maps to the universe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it ends.


End file.
